Music

Tigran Hamasyan

This is a pianist that, for me, can do no wrong. I learned about him in 2015 through his album Mockroot. It starts off with a calm folk melody, then immediately switches gears to hard hitting progressive piano rock. But even though rhythmic subdivisions change by the measure, the continuity of a powerful melody does not suffer. This is something Hamasyan consistently gets right: there is a lot of technical complexity to unpack if you want, but it's never about that; complex motions always serve the arch of the song.

Every song on the 2017 piano solo album An Ancient Observer is a nugget of musicality. Each has its own distinct emotional theme with strikingly precise rhythms, elegantly balanced harmonies and a piercing melody dictating it all. My brain likes the recurring patterns with all the slight varations that make it interesting.