Steven Riche
Piano EP
Homepage: http://www.myspace.com/stevenriche
Feature By: Nick Morrow
Photography By: Annie Van
It would be tough to write a review of Steven Riche’s debut “The Piano EP” without using the words “quirky” or “creative.” Its contents could be better described in visceral terms than musical ones, and the songs seem to align themselves more closely with tales like “The Little Prince” or “The Chronicles of Narnia” than actual music. And if the reader is scared off by the EP’s unimaginative title, have no fear: Steven Riche’s fantastical right-piano-hand is emotionally evocative like an old memory that is always a bit more epic than the actual event.
The five song EP, recorded in one sitting in late December, was an experiment with a piano, one man’s creative ideas, and the theme of a four-season cycle. Sure, the subject matter has been tried plenty of times, but it feels as though Riche’s offering is a highly original supplement to the potentially cliché theme. Beginning and ending on the season of spring, the EP carries a satisfying continuity throughout, and maintains a tone that might be described as “whimsically redemptive.”
When describing the writing of the EP, Riche uses the analogy of a young tree tied to a metal pole to help its growth:
“The songs were actually guided by stories and ideas more than music. Because the instrumental genre can be pretty abstract, I wanted to have a central theme to base everything around.”
Riche was pleasantly surprised with his end result, and decided to press 1,000 copies to give away for free. He is currently working on new music for a potential forthcoming full-length, and is hoping to use a variety of instruments next time, “as a challenge,” and also, ironically, “…because I don’t have a piano where I live at this point.”