Re:Piano

What happens when the traditional acoustic piano comes face to face with modern digital technology? That’s the question Chad Lawson seeks to answer by taking an old, muffled Steinway grand and, with loops, effects, and multiple layers, creating otherworldly, magical new sounds. Lawson builds his gorgeous textures into rich tapestries—“Beautiful the Night” spreads out like ripples on water, while the minimalist, slightly distorted “I Should Be Sleeping” takes the piano into a dreamlike world that sounds more electronic than acoustic. The final, gorgeous “Closing Rhyme” undulates gently before it gradually fades away to nothing.