Chris
Conway - Outside In
piano improvisation + outside sounds
1
Outside In
Chris
Conway -
piano, voice, outside sounds
Piano + outside sounds A 50 minute solo piano improvisation plus sounds recorded from outside whilst the recording took place. Rain, wind, the occasional car all add an underscore to the music.
video
background
After my last solo piano album Midnight Window Blue which contained a 30 minute improvisation, I decided to do an album all in one go with the next.
I had had an imspiring morning reading and listening to music and to the rain outside whilst I read. I went straight to my loft studio and opened the windows and placed 2 microphones out of the window to captured the outside sounds as I played. This is someting I have done several times in the past including my first solo album 4am where I captured the sound of a blackbird outside at 4am.
This time I caught the rain, the breeze in the trees and some cars going by, which all added to make a pleasantly otherworldy sound effect not unlike the ocean. I sang a few notes occasionally in the background too. Afterwards I played back the music both with and without the outside sounds and found I missed it when it wasnt there. I particularly liked in the still, quiet sections how the outside sound comes more into the foreground, like a cymbal. I am considering making a piano-only version for download on Bandcamp soon though.
I had no plan for the music except that I wanted it to contain very sparse and slightly atonal sections here and there. Otherwise I let the music go where it wishes, and I was surprised at folkish melodies coming up.
I realised listening back that improvising on the piano is something I shall always return to.
influences
Marcin Wasilewski, Steve Kuhn, John Taylor, Azimuth, Richie Beirach, Rainer Brüninghaus, Bobo Stenson, Terry Riley, Alexander Scriabin, Morton Feldman.
trivia
The album was recorded on the 28th July 2016 at about midday.
The photo on the back cover is one of the 2 microphones pointing out of the window.
