New discovery: The Piano Guys

So you know how I always go to this or that concert in order to discover new artists? You don’t know? Oh well, now you most certainly do. Have one scheduled for next week actually. Anyway, that’s another blog post. As I was saying, I always like to go and discover new bands or musicians. This time, a very good friend of mine did the discovery for me and luckily she shared it with her friends on Facebook. Told you social media can be brilliant at times!

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Have you heard of The Piano Guys? No?! I think it’s kind of time to shake yourself a bit and find out!

Basically, The Piano Guys – composed of Steven Sharp Nelson, Jon Schmidt, Al Van der Beek and Paul Anderson – became an online sensation by way of their immensely successful series of strikingly original self-made music videos, which have surpassed 800 million views and garnered nearly 4.5 million subscribers on YouTube. Yes, luckily, people can still be original! They’ve made over 50 music videos since 2011, including their breakout hit, an innovative multi-handed version of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” and a gorgeous reinvention of the hit song “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen. I remember friends with kids and how terrorized they were by this song, maybe this version would actually be liked and will also calm the kid down?

To date, the Utah-based classical-pop group have released five major label albums on Portrait/Sony Music Masterworks: Wonders, The Piano Guys, The Piano Guys 2, a holiday album called A Family Christmas, and most recently The Piano Guys – Live! featuring live music from their sold out Red Rocks and Carnegie Hall concerts.

Their most recent work, and the one I’ve seen when my friend shared it, was the cover for Adele’s new song! Yes, the song that seemed to have shaken the world and made everyone share this type of photos:

Now, before you start throwing rocks at me for bringing up Adele exactly when the world is starting to calm down, pause! Because this might be Adele, but it is in combination with Mozart ladies and gents. Yes, you’ve heard read correctly.

Quite different, but yet similar, isn’t it? So, let’s go technical, and let Steven Sharp Nelson explain:

“Hello/Lacrimosa” (or “Chello,” as it has affectionately been called in the studio) is a musical experiment bridging 18th century spiritualism and 21st century secularism. Imagine Mozart and Adele in the same room in an intense co-write session, quill and pen in hand, respectively. Picturing this hypothetical hangout helped to spark the creative combination of the two. Both “Hello” and Lacrimosa have divergent traits which presented challenges. One wallows in a wide, painstakingly minor 12/8 time and the other drives a poignant bi-polar major/minor common time. One draws its power from the fullness of a grand chorus and orchestra, the other from the isolation of a lone voice and piano. One conforms to age-old counterpart canon and musical theory, while the other is conveyed via verse/chorus pop song parlance. However, they share the same fundamental feeling — “Lacrimosa” (meaning “weeping” or “tearful”) mournfully bemoans spiritual death, while “Hello” gripes about relationship regrets. Different centuries. Different realms. Same emotion. Perhaps we aren’t as far from our predecessors as we think we are.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve listened to these guys for these past days and I love what they are doing. And they are on tour! Sadly, it’s just in America at the moment. But, who knows when they might end up in London? As such, if you like them as well, and will do as I will (keep an eye out for concerts), I suggest following them on Twitter, Facebook or/and YouTube. If you are one of the lucky ones to live in the United States, have a look at their official website for tour dates.

Enjoy! I’m off to listen to some lovely music and write yet another film review.

 

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