London, 2019

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Feryanto is an Italian composer and pianist whose experience varies from being the artistic director and piano teacher at MusicAvanguardia to performing with Koneskin, recording the soundtrack to Andrea Porporati’s Il Dolce e l’amaro or producing the trio release, Velo di Maya. In 2019, his first release with Blue Spiral Records is We Are Infinite; a pianistic journey that goes beyond musicality to scratch philosophical themes such as the contemplation of everything that leads to infinity—including what the human ear does not perceive. Through nine piano pieces, Feryanto demonstrates a sensitivity for impressionistic material and minimalistic structures.

 

A Landscape of Being is built on a constant pulse that supports absorbing harmonic material that progressively builds tension, without ever going anywhere. Thematically, the piece deals with the relationship between ourselves and our imagination. Where Echoes Come to Rest and Tana Lot both relate to tales of sacred and silent places; at times melancholic and at others romantic, there is a harmonic ambiguity that keeps the pieces away from musical cliches. An additional piece—and the title of the album—We Are Infinite approaches once more harmonic ambivalence and rhythmical ostinati. A Map to Find Us reflects on our own journey through life and the thereafter; it translates through continuous musical structure and contrary polyphonic inspired by early-minimalism. All Creatures Bloom is another demonstration of minimalism in music. Searain, in turn, addresses the cycle of water and how it changes form to return to its initial state; it translates through a very spatial piece that builds up on a rhythmic mural and percussive background. I Owe You bears a beautiful melody made of only three notes that are repeated over and over; it was written as an homage and deals with the importance of transmission in music and the arts. Finally, the surprising and modern Like Fireworks, closes the album as the only piece to feature solely electronics and that flirts with ambient music.

 

We Are Infinite is a very good release and surprise from a composer that is yet to be known. Although best understood through its context, it is nevertheless an album that is enjoyable on its own and that avoids the redundant. Feryanto is a very tasteful composer who has learned to control his inspiration to filter only the essential, allowing the strong philosophical aspect of his pieces to be understood and grasped by the listener.