Hior Chronik - Piano Works (2020)

Athens-born and Berlin-based producer Hior Chronik has been with KITCHEN. LABEL since 2012 and has recorded two albums under the label, namely "Vanishing Mirror" (2012) as part of the duo Pill-Oh and "Taking The Veil" (2015). Hior Chronik, whose real name is George Papadopoulos, returns to the piano, an instrument that shaped many of his best-loved compositions.

"Piano Works" is a suite of sixteen piano miniatures defined by stark simplicity and quiet majesty, with the velvet textures of Aaron Martin's cello; the perfect foil for Hior Chronik's piano and electronic subtleties. The seeds for this album were sown in 2016 after Hior moved to Berlin from his hometown in Athens. Finding himself in unfamiliar circumstances, the artist sought solace in composing short piano pieces at the day's end as a personal musical remembrance. Valuing the purity of every note, he never seems compelled to speak more than necessary. This is Hior Chronik at his most intimate and minimal.

An oceanic piano sustain opens the first track in the deep yearning "A Piece of a Living Heart," a prelude to the soul-tugging piano melodies that will follow throughout the album. Hior Chronik coaxes a climatic range of coloristic temperaments that make the scores come alive. The gloaming piano ballad of "Float on"; the emotionally hard-hitting "As I Was Moving Backwards"; the waltz of piano and pizzicato cello of "I Count More on the Things You Ignore" to the dark-hued atmosphere of "When It All Comes Back to You." Closing the album is "Krakow," a serene and hopeful elegy reminiscent of the promise of a new dawn. Hior Chronik's sketching of life collected in "Piano Works" helps us make sense of emotions and provide peace amidst these unprecedented times of uncertainty.

"Piano Works" will be released across all digital formats and as a limited run of 200 cassettes on July 3rd via KITCHEN. LABEL. Chihei Hatakeyama mastered this recording in Tokyo, Japan.