A new album is released: Piano & Guitar, Vol. I.
Where the previously released album (2meetu) in July 2016 had a distinctive electronic sound, the P&G album contains a more pop rock oriented direction. As the title indicates, the guitar and piano are omnipresent and the arrangement of the songs is build around the acoustic piano and acoustic and electric guitars.
The P&G album became like a time travel through Ewald’s favourite music styles and influences from the past and present.Each of the tracks on the album can be linked to these influences. The album opener ‘Early in the Morning’ sounds like a recording session for Paul McCartney’s 1971 album Ram, while another track ‘Down on the Ground’ breathes a production style from the Beatles AD 1969, when they recorded their swing song album Abbey Road. But the influences certainly do not stop there. Varying from Beach Boys (‘It Doesn’t Take a Scientist’) to a string of jazz and latin influenced tracks (‘When’, ‘That Initial Moment’, ‘Young & Beautiful Lovers’). ‘When’ is actually the finishing of a demo that Ewald already recorded in 1984 and in its chord progression and structure references to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. The other tracks on the album were mainly recorded in the summer and autumn of 2016, with the exception of ‘October’ and ‘That Initial Moment’ that were both recorded earlier (in 2013).
‘Lady Blue’ is a multi layered instrumental track that hits off with Asian inspired percussion theme, gradually transforming into a soundtrack like theme (think the music of Ennio Morricone) and then to morph into a mysterious, psychedelic last episode. ‘Mam’ is like a playful, simple interlude, an introduction to what can be considered the center piece of the album, the epic ‘Ride Along The Stars’. After the vocal first part, the track is for the second half instrumental offering the listener a multitude of different instrumental themes before the fading containing a double, improvised solo guitar. The sparse use of Mellotron in the song contributes to its mysterious and psychedelic qualities. As a counter weight to ‘Ride Along the Stars’ the album’s final track is a simple and elegant ballad. ‘Believe in Me’ contains the bare basics of piano, vocal and some sparse cello.
On Spotify:
Also available on Apple Music.