The Prepared Piano Man

Hauschka “Cube”

Hauschka’s latest album Salon Des Amateurs finds the German experimental pianist playing with rhythms and structural ideas inspired by dance music. I can hear it in some of the tracks for sure, but as usual, the main appeal of Hauschka’s work is not a formalist appropriation of ideas from another genre but rather the striking, elegant beauty of his compositions and the distinct, remarkable evocative tones created by his manipulation of his piano’s strings and hammers. “Cube” is an especially gorgeous piece. I can’t hear much techno influence on this one, but it could be in there somewhere — I find I get too caught up in its ever-shifting melodies, rhythms and tones to get hung up on trainspotting.

Buy it from Amazon.