Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
¿𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙧 𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙧? – 𝘼𝙙𝙖́𝙣 𝙍𝙖𝙢𝙞́𝙧𝙚𝙯
Charles is tuned to perfection…
The humble piano has been around even longer than I. More than 300 years, to be roughly precise. It is an instrument with which we are ALL most familiar. We know its sound intimately. Even if YOU have never tinkled a single ivory in your life, YOU will know that sound. Which is more than most can say about the oboe – an instrument not much older. The period of an instrument’s existence has little to do with its popularity. The Ondioline was invented as recently as 1939, and have you heard of it? Is it in countless records you know and love? It is not. And yet, our ancient humble piano continues to attract just about every genre – even electronic. Why is this? Well, I still stand strong in my belief that it is the greatest instrument because of one factor. Its versatility. Would you prefer to impersonate Debussy or Rachmaninov, or would you rather don the silly glasses and do an impersonation of Elton John? Either way, you will need a piano. I call it humble, but have you ever actually SEEN what goes on inside a piano? It is so complicated that it’s quite amazing they ever bothered with its completion. Why would such a heavy, immovable, complex and expensive thing attract such a wide audience? Let us travel to Camden Town in London to find out…
While Camden is known these days for tourists, punks (if you can find any), coolness, and cheapness (not in terms of price), it has long been a music hub of London. Not THE music hub, but A. London has many. This tiny area of London is known worldwide – surprisingly to me – and this is mainly due to its history and heritage rather than its leather jackets, tattoos and “I heart Camden” mugs. Throughout the late 80s, 90s and 00s, Camden Town was a happening place. It was where all the musicians and music lovers found themselves. They either found themselves or others found them in the early hours, unconscious on the pavement outside a long-closed pub. A heap of bones draped in cool cloth. It was that kind of a place. Sounds horrific. But I loved it. I consider it the second half of my upbringing. Camden was my naughty uncle. And due to my somewhat sheltered upbringing, I believe I NEEDED that. My safety pin had to be unfastened. I came up short in sticking it through my nose though. So, how did Camden become so music-centric? Is it just “one of those things”? It probably depends which of those things you’re talking about… Believe it or not, it all stems from pianos…
By the late 19th century, pianos had become less an extravagance for the uber-rich, and more a necessity for the common man. No household was complete without one! By the 1870s, do you know where most of the world’s pianos were made? Germany? China? The Ewe Ess of Ay? Shall I tell you? You guessed it, it’s Camden Town. Still amazes me. So how many piano works were there in Camden? One? Four? Twelve? I’ll tell you. More than one hundred! All stretching from Camden Town to Tufnell Park; that’s an area of just a mile or two. And so, Camden quickly became renowned for music, as the piano quickly became the sole source of musical entertainment for the masses. That is, until the dawn of gramophone records and radio. The final death knell for this ubiquitously wondrous instrument, was the cheap electronic keyboard – a childhood memory I would rather forget. You see, I have never had a real piano. Sigh. It quietly plagues me that I never grew up with one. Yamaha’s plastic circuitry is just not the same – I never understood why it had slight vibrato. Pianos don’t.
Avid readers of this here column o’ mine will know that I have quite recently started immersing myself in the world of classical music. This has not stopped. I have veered off course the occasional while, but usually got straight back on track. It’s always good to somewhat diversify one’s musical tastes. A cleansing of the palate. Sunday evening’s meal needed some musical ambience to sufficiently relieve the stresses of an unusually eventful Sunday. Life sometimes doesn’t like to play ball… And so, it was not for The Weeknd that I reached, but for classical. When briefly browsing Apple Classical’s playlists, my girlfriend and I stumbled upon a playlist called Piano Chill. That’ll do nicely. The classical snobs will be rolling their eyes, and I frankly don’t care. This was not the time to be taken away by music of the highest echelon. This was to be light therapy. Something to soothe. And what better thing than Piano Chill! Turned out there was probably plenty better. Unfortunately, it was mostly very much not what we had had in mind. Generally, pop is thought to be pretty simple, and classical is thought to be rather more highbrow and complex. On the whole, there is some truth here. However, this playlist made modern pop appear truly sophisticated in comparison. I felt like I was listening to a 12-year-old who had been proud (smug) in having written and played a predictable piece of dull, melancholic muck. It was more like “classical for modern children”. It amazed me that this was even on Apple Classical. Just because it’s a piano played softly doesn’t automatically mean it is classical. It turns out there IS such a thing as too simple, and I find this with a lot of modern classical. Thankfully, as the playlist continued, it got a lot better. The pieces became more involved. The playing had more emotion. The harmony more complex. And yet, it still fell well inside the realm of “Piano Chill”. Eventually, the playlist played the part for which it had been cast: beautiful relaxation.
Yet what have I done here but think? Even right now, I am mulling over the conundrum of whether a piano is a string instrument or a percussion instrument… I can’t help but think, all the time. “Letting go” is not something that comes naturally to me. I have listened, I have thought. I have read, I have thought. I have written, I have thought. I have explained, I have thought. Nothing in the world makes me exempt from thinking. The mind of a thinker is perhaps of interest, but does this make the person interesting? Is this a life lived to the full? If one is a philosopher, then perhaps. But most of us are not, let’s face it. Is thinking enough to exist? I suppose in all fairness, I do do more than just think. I make pretty little ditties for the world to hear (or not know of). So maybe my existence is justified? Let’s hope so. Euthanasia is WAY down my list of priorities, I must say. And so I will continue. Here’s one thing I do: I’m in charge of manually updating the Spotify pre-saves on the New Artist Spotlight website every week. One name keeps cropping up. Why do I remember it? Three reasons. One, it’s almost weekly. Two, it’s always a pain to type because of the accents over the “a” and the “i” – but I insist upon it, because that is his name. Three, the artist is always really rather good, and different from what we usually find on the NAS. I always thought, “One day, I will review him”. Well, that day has come. Please welcome Adán Ramírez and his classical chops!
To say that Edgar Adán Ramírez Mora is prolific is to understate the reality. Correction, prolific is EXACTLY what he is. I just get used to people being called “prolific” if they release twice in one year. Like how someone is considered an “entrepreneur” if they manage two jobs. I, however, like to use words properly, otherwise they lose meaning. Edgar IS prolific, and I am neither an entrepreneur nor a genius. Simple, in fact. If you don’t mind, I will state this chap’s name as Edgar, so I don’t have to mess with constant accents all over the place. Apologies for my laze. Let’s get back to his prolificity. Last year he released 16 pieces, and his latest single is his fourth of 2025 so far. Okay, so we have quantity. Fine. But what’s the QUALITY like? Well, put it this way: he puts most of that Piano Chill playlist to shame. Oh, so he’s predominantly a piano guy, then? No, actually. He is when he wants to be. What he is, however, is a classical guy. That is what he does. Which I think is probably why he gets overlooked within the community. There ain’t no bangin’ beats. He is a composer. The thing is, while I am very much regularly dunking my foot into classical music, I understand it is not for everyone. An acquired taste, shall we say. And it doesn’t go down well in the club – I would assume. Which is why I decided to pick his latest. It’s a piano piece. Something more likely to gel with a larger audience than, say, Concerto di Flugelhorn in D flat diminished; Allegro II, Opus 1510, or some such coded jargon. This is a short piece for piano, with a comprehensible title. Edgar ponders: “¿Pensar es suficiente para existir?” – or, “Is thinking enough to exist?”. Well is it, punk? He probably wouldn’t say punk. The truth is, he says nothing at all. He leaves the question rhetorical by not answering it. He wants YOU to think about it. Instead of words, he gives to us a beautiful piece of minimalism. It helps you think; it helps you drift.
I mention minimalism because I have a bit of experience with it. Or, have had. You see, unknowingly, when I was a 14-year-old brat, I was quietly writing minimalist pieces. Admittedly, I was doing this on a piece of software that fit on to a floppy disk, so the sound would not have sounded anything LIKE the magic you hear on Edgar’s record. It was also probably rubbish. I would guess that few have even heard of minimalism, but I suspect that most of those who have, will have completely misunderstood what it actually is. The natural assumption is that there is very little going on. WRONG! And in this sense, “Is thinking enough to exist?” is not strictly minimalism, but actually more simply minimal. True minimalism is more to do with the music seemingly changing little, but over time it completely changes through many subtle shifts and variations. A little bit like the musical equivalent of Chinese Whispers. And no, it is not racist to use the word Chinese. Besides, Edgar is Mexican. In fact, I believe he is the first Mexican I have had in my Corner – correct me if I’m wrong. One way this piece DOES make me think of minimalism though is the key. The sparse nature of the intervals makes for an ambiguous key. And THIS is where my lack of music theory lets me down. I know it is something to do with a specific “mode” common in minimalism, but that is all I can tell you. Try Patrik Ahlm for more details – I’m sure he’d know. But another way this piece reminds me of minimalism, is the rhythm of the notes. Quavers galore! Only quavers. All right then: 8th notes. And without breath.
The final way “Is thinking enough to exist?” makes me think of minimalism is to do with one note. One repeated note that comes frequently at odd intervals. It is the 9th of the key. Still with me? Hahaha – I’ll be amazed if there are more than two of you who have any idea what I’ve been talking about for the last couple of minutes. Did I lose you after Camden Town…? Well, for the two of you still with me, that 9th, it acts like a drone. It puts you in a trance without realising you’re in a trance. Like when you first drift off to sleep and you don’t quite realise you’re dreaming. The man who does this best is Brian Eno. Eno is a bit of a god to me. Not for Roxy Music, Bowie or U2, but for all his solo ambient, meditative work. Eno is my joint. My pocket Buddha. I am instantly all Zen-like. And I feel like Adán Ramírez (show those accents some love) is his Mexican brother from another mother. BUT!! I only speak of this specific piece. Edgar (enough love for the accents) writes in a plethora of styles ranging from medieval to the modern day (and much in between). You see, although I urge you to listen to his latest release, I further urge you to discover his entire catalogue. It might be a welcome welcome to the world of classical music, from one NASian to another. Beautiful, sensitive playing in all respects. A proper composer who knows his stuff.
p.s. If you think the piece finishes at the one minute mark, think again. There is a pause of around 15 seconds or so before part two. You all know I like Part Twos.
Camden Town still offers piano tuning services. What, am I supposed to lug it on the bus?? Mind you, I could have a few drinks while I’m there… I’ll probably end up like the piano strings: tight and hammered.
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