American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer and photographer Thomas Meluch (aka Benoît Pioulard) has beautifully reworked ‘Loranga’ by revered Swedish pianist Henrik Lindstrand. Utilising his experience within the world of ambient field recordings and original lo-fi compositions, Pioulard has crafted an expansive, atmospheric soundscape that builds into heady euphoria. Subtle but intense electronics buried deep within a meditative and reflective reimaging.
Benoit tells us “Henrik’s work was a delight to deconstruct; my aim was to create the cosmic background radiation to the constellations of his notes, and retain the same atmosphere through different means — in this case, primarily guitar and tape”.
Henrik expands; “To enter the musical universe of Benoît Pioulard is a mesmerizing experience. His dense and hypnotic textures are very unique and I love the atmosphere it creates around you when listening. I was so pleased when he wanted to rework my piece Loranga from the latest album. The result was very much what I had hoped for and it brings the song into Benoît Pioulard´s captivating soundscape. This is the perfect track for daydreaming.”
Last year Henrik Lindstrand completed his trilogy of personal, melodically woven soundscapes with ‘Nordhem’, following albums ‘Nattresan’ (2019) and ‘Leken’ (2017). Gaining notoriety for his semi-autobiographical stories told using sounds solely from the piano, the work from his solo ventures is ripe for reinterpretation.
Lindstrand’s career is littered with accolades that make up an impressive and eclectic resume. A keen musician from a young age, he graduated from the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen where he became engrossed in the local musical culture and lent his skills to a multitude of acts as a studio musician, live player and string arranger. This lead to him being “adopted” into Danish rock band Kashmir, one of Scandinavia‘s most prominent and acclaimed bands with whom he toured the world extensively as their keyboard player and guitarist.
During his tenure in Kashmir and until the band’s hiatus, Henrik worked with seminal profiles such as Tony Visconti, Andy Wallace, David Bowie and Lou Reed, whilst building a career alongside as a highly regarded composer for television and cinema. Recent accomplishments include the score for the ITV Nordic-noir series Greyzone, the soundtrack for the hugely successful and award-winning Lego game, Builder´s Journey and a film score to Undtagelsen (The Exception) released last summer. Recent noteable solo performances include sold out concerts in Copenhagen, The Heartland Festival (DK) Silent Green in Berlin, Soho House London, Union Chapel London and Pianeo Festival Munster (D).
In October Lindstrand played a unique and intimate live performance filmed in Copenhagen at Camp Adventure (one of Time Magazines 100 best places to visit), in a stunning 45-meter-high tower in the middle of the forest. In a time when live music experiences were few and far between across the world, Lindstrand and his team were able to create an extraordinary one-off outdoor event to perfectly house this captivating performance.
At the end of the year he released a book, a selection of 21 transcriptions and arrangements for solo piano from his three albums. With scores ranging from pure and minimal to experimental and inventive. It includes beautiful imagery, specially written notes from the composer and downloadable backing tracks to inspire the most enjoyable experience.