Nano Zakkak

This record consists of six eerily sparse, minor key piano pieces that straddle the boundary of ambient and modern classical. Each piece is untitled, named simply after the length of the track, à la Global Communication. Unafraid to embrace silence, the album opens with "6:07," as a few short, sharp piano chords ring out, decaying slowly as the faintest background rumble stretches out into the distance. The compositions were written for four pianos, with each pianist making full use of the sustain pedal, playing through a series of chords with the instruction to proceed to the next chord only when their current chord could no longer be heard. Experimental in nature, it's eminently listenable in practice. It is cinematic, minimal and icily cold, yet manages to be haunting and full of emotion. Zakkak's debut would appeal to fans of Michael Nyman's Decay Music and the work of Harold Budd.