London, 2019

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Noirepolde is a Prague based neoclassical composer and pianist. After having spent a couple of years producing electronic music, it is through the piano that the musician has found his best medium of expression. In 2017 he released his first album, Songs from Nowhere, and it is with the Italian label Blue Spiral Records that Noirepolde releases his second album, Decade II. A compilation of both recent and older material, the album reflects on the composer’s evolution and how his experience has shaped him as a musician, as well as his current perception of music. 

 

Eastern Beauty, that opens the album, has a very particular tonal quality—mostly due to the lightness of the timbre of the piano, as well as the fragile strings that interpret the leading melodies of the piece. Sunday Waltz reflects the influence of Satie, however the sound of the prepared piano also refers to more contemporary composers such as Hauschka. Contrasting with the previous pieces, Metropolis is a lot more ambient and plays a lot more on electric textures—through the addition of the electric guitar. On the same path, Silly Melancholy introduces the electronic keyboard and shows another facet of the composer; a lot more joyful and playful, a little delight. Hearts and Hope Is in the River resemble to the opening pieces through their delicacy and lightness, if not joyfulness, and their contemplative production. Surfing towards ambient music, We Are Shadows and Space 13 are a little more adventurous, with, for the latter, an interesting exchange of the ostinato between the voices. Finally, Midnight Mystery and Moon & Dreamers returns to the atmosphere of the beginning of the album, with a more intimate and pianistic quality, retaining some of the ambient characteristics of the previous pieces. 

 

Inspired and influenced by the music Noirepolde has absorbed in the last fifteen years, Decade II presents a range of colours and textures, and through a minimalistic approach, a music that is both classically influenced and tinted with electronic combinations. Featuring additional musicians, such as the violinist Adam Pakosta or the guitarist Alwin Fernandez, the project surprises the listener by oscillating between melancholic intimate pieces and atmospheric and ambient textures. Presented as a compilation album, Decade II is a perfect introduction to the universe of Noirepolde, and will attract the listener to his previous works as well as raise a curiosity towards the composer’s future.