A visceral analysis on the relationship between organic piano and inorganic synthesis, HAL sees Bill Laurance pivot on his jazz and classical influences once again.
The mournful opening chords of HAL set a bleak picture. Uncertain. Timid. Dystopian almost. Some eighteen years after Kubrick’s machine outwitted it’s human counterparts, this track is set in the very real real world where technology has embedded itself into all of our lives. Mirroring this, Bill Laurance weaves a patchwork of tones which envelope his piano playing. Electronic embellishments fuse with the organic sound of struck strings to create a hybrid instrument; one that feels both familiar and supernatural.
Light percussion provides the only hint to the grooves of his earlier albums, instead this is an analysis on musical textures and the visceral feelings they create. The point of inflection comes as strings and melody combine, lifting you as the piece gains in confidence – finally opening up to the smooth and swinging phrasing of Laurance’s piano playing.
Bill Laurance first sat at a piano aged seven, learning ragtime tunes and entering into the world of rhythm and jazz. A virtuoso, he went on to join the impossibly talented fusion collective Snarky Puppy, touring across the globe and picking up a number of awards along the way. Not that they matter much. Bill is on a continual journey of exploration, writing constantly whilst on the road and relentlessly changing his sound and use of instruments. A fanatic of all varieties of keyboard instruments from the grand to a Rhodes; synth-bass played on a Moog or striking leads from his MS2000.
HAL is the first track to be released from upcoming record ‘Cables’ – his 5th solo album – and in a step away from the larger ensembles on earlier records, Bill has chosen to record each and every part himself. Cables is available from the 8th of March, and will be released on his own Flint Music label.
The Empty Space Between Your Ears 