Ghost Piano is the debut solo album by Martin Virgo who over the decades has played piano and arranged for among others Bjork, Alanis Morrisette, Shara Nelson and Massive Attack along with his own band Mono. For this album Martin recorded everything himself playing a Steinway Model B Acoustic Grand Piano with Nick Cooper special guesting on Cello on the title tune. Engineered by Lucinda Gallant at Last Eight Studios, London.
The album opens with Paris 1889 a slow classical piece, that could almost be welcoming home bedraggled soldiers, limping back from another terrible foreign adventure, this is evocative and downtrodden. Ancient Modern sounds like it could be the soundtrack to wandering round Les Invalides taking in the wonderful modernity surrounding the ancient mausoleums in a thought-provoking way.
Nocturne should be accompanied by a large glass of Napoleon brandy and some Gauloise, for the coda to a dark french love affair that has dissolved in the middle of the night. Hymn takes us to a rather stark protestant church, totally unadorned, allowing focussed contemplation and reflection, without any distractions from grandiose religious artwork.
Ghost Piano of the sort you hear tinkling in the distance, but can never find where it's being played, let alone the ambient cello whispering to you, from beyond the walls of sadness and regret. This Moment (Is All There Is) sounds somewhere between Satie's Gymnopedies and John Cale's soundtrack to The Unknown, gently evocatively tinkling the wistful thoughts of where we might be.
Le Chat Noir has the feel of a smoke-filled cafe and all those posters and signs for Le Chat Noir that have crossed Martin's path over the years, this is very relaxed, almost supine for one of those vary laid back chilled out black cats.
La Goulue is not gluttonous for the amount of notes Martin can play, but rather for how pretty he can make such a stripped back tune sound. Lagom being almost the opposite of Gluttony, takes a more Swedish approach to playing just the right amount for the tune in question, that Martin delivers perfectly.
Strange Tango is decidedly seductive in the slow prowling around the dancefloor, being ever more enamoured of each other. The album closes with Improvisation that feels somewhere between John Cage and Erik Satie extemporising around repeating notes, evolving with careful use of bass notes.
Find out more at https://martinvirgo.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-piano https://www.facebook.com/martin.virgo.92
