Maxence Cyrin - Novö Piano 2 (2015) [Official Digital Download]

Having drawn attention with his original compositions, arrangements and covers, pianist Maxence Cyrin is back with Novö Piano II in which, with emotion and mischievousness, he takes a new look at the pop-rock repertoire of the ’80s and ’90s, from The Cure to Björk, by way of Soundgarden and Goldfrapp. Basically, what makes for the quality of a cover? The interpretation, transcription, arrangement? Not only. A cover is, of course, a way for a musician to embody the emotion felt when listening to a given artist, as well as a means for translating the attachment that links him to his past. The quality of Maxence Cyrin’s covers, whether focusing on pop or techno hits, stems from this form of distant and amorous relation he has with ‘certain rarities, certain favorite titles and not just hits’ that have punctuated his existence, such as Dominique A’s ‘Le courage des oiseaux’, The Cure’s ‘If Only Tonight We Could Sleep’, Björk’s ‘Hyperballad’ or trip-hop’s cult title Rob D’s ‘Clubbed to Death’.

‘In the 19th century, they were already making piano reductions of orchestral works, and today many pianists do the same thing, reproducing the rock repertoire note by note. Although I sometimes remain faithful to the vocal melody, my work goes further: it’s a matter of adapting the piece, making a real arrangement, appropriating it while respecting its original spirit. I take inspiration as much from Chopin and 19th-century Romanticism as from the modernism of the early 20th, without forgetting to draw on French chanson, jazz, pop or techno. For example, my arrangement of Soundgarden’s « Black Hole Sun » draws on Ravel and jazz, and Van Halen’s « Jump » is dominated by a rhythmic play in which the whole-tone scale recalls Satie or Debussy.’ Primarily instrumental, Novö Piano II is however marked by two moments of vocal grace, when the pianist is joined by Miss Kittin or Frantic. The former interprets Grace Jones’s ‘Walking in the Rain’ (1981) in ‘talk-over’ mode, and the latter, Billy Idol’s ‘Eyes Without a Face’ (1984) in an extremely sensual register.

Finally, Novö Piano II has a warm, natural sound, characteristic of recording engineer Nicolas Bartholomée’s work, but it is even more distinctive for ‘the colored, melodious sound, with its dazzling timbre and deep basses’ of the Fazioli piano on which it was recorded.

Tracklist:

01. Clubbed to Death
02. Le courage des oiseaux
03. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
04. Walking in the Rain (feat. Miss Kittin)
05. Lovely Head
06. Black Hole Sun
07. Hyperballad
08. Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet
09. Eyes Without a Face (feat. Frantic)
10. Jump



All thanks go to the original releaser