The drawback of much piano-centred ambient music is that it seems to be conceived as a soundtrack to real or imagined movies. As a result, when heard without any visual accompaniment it is at best relaxing and at worst rather boring.
Fortunately, this is not the case with 'All Your Life You Walk', the second solo contemporary piano album by a young classically trained composer based in Muinich.
With influences ranging from Mozart to Mogwai, this self-recorded album manages to avoid the usual pitfalls.
Carlos Cipa is aware that some beats (which sound as if they were played in Cagean fashion on the inside of the piano) together with unexpected shifts in timbre are necessary to create a sense of drama and maintain interest.
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Therefore, what could easily have been just another pretty and melodic album of anonymous background music has enough tension to keep the listener engaged.
Nine longer tracks are interspersed with six numbered 'fragments' but the one hour duration has a seamless flow and is designed to be listened to as a whole with the brain fully engaged.
Carlos Cipa's website
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