This one is a bit outside a lot of what I cover here, but it's not entirely outside lots of what I listen to. The track I'm sharing here is from the upcoming Kelly Moran album, Moves in the Field. That will be out on the legendary Warp imprint in two weeks. The video features a live recording and sometimes matching imagery. The result is striking.
Kelly Moran plays a prepared piano on some of her records, but this track features a Yamaha Disklavier, a player-piano. Some of this feels like John Cage, or the precision of Philip Glass' works for solo piano, but the emotions here make me think of maybe Harold Budd. But there's also a little of this that linked up for me with the music on Virginia Astley's best records. What seems austere at first listen, reveals layers of emotion as new lines of melody are introduced, and a flurry of notes played. It's the kind of music that demands attention, and I think that's yet another reason I want to highlight it today.
Moves in the Field by Kelly Moran will be out via Warp on March 29. Details below.
[Photo: "Sodalis" Video Still from Kelly Moran / Warp]