Belle De Nuit

Description

Neo-classic project from renowned electronic producer Parra for Cuva

Parra for Cuva - Belle de Nuit (EP)

Parra for Cuva's upcoming piano EP, Belle de Nuit, picks up reverberations from the musicians' past. Perhaps unbeknownst to most of his listeners - who primarily recognize the artist for the mellow electronic tracks he's become internationally famous for - the piano has been Nicolas Demuth's longtime companion, a relationship began all the way back in his childhood. "I have been playing the piano since I was twelve years old," he reminisces. Thanks to an early teacher who opened his mind to the joys of improvisation and jazz music, the instrument slowly went from being just a companion to an indispensable tool for him as a composer. For the following eighteen years the instrument would be key to Parra for Cuva's musical output - "Most of my tracks were first sketched out on the piano"- even if standing slightly at the background to his electronic set-ups. Now, Parra for Cuva thinks it's time to bring the instrument to the fore. With his first solo piano EP, the artist returns to a moment of solitude, before he'd stepped into the world of festival stages and collaborations, in a moving tribute to his past and the instrument at its heart.

Recorded in an old Seiler piano from the comfort of his own home studio, the four tracks on Echoes offer a glimpse into Parra for Cuva's private life. In the EP's opening track, Belle de Nuit, room-y reverberations and the soft sound of pedals are as much a part of the piece as the piano itself. Sounds that remind the listener that the instrument exists within time and place - in this case, on a cold winter's night during a late-night jam session after one too many glasses of wine. "Me and my girlfriend were cooking dinner and drinking, and I just sat at the piano and started improvising tipsy-ly," he says. Thankfully, Paula secretly hit record on her phone, and the piece could be reconstructed and developed the following morning. More than capturing a moment of comfort, the piece's captivating looping melody is also testament to how fast, far and free imagination can run within the intimacy of home. The same can be said of the EP's second track, Belle de Jour. With its muffled keys and soft pace, the ambient track calls forth the creative idling of slow weekend mornings.

Although complementary to his output as an electronic music producer, Parra for Cuva notes that the piano allows for a different kind of expression and mindset than clicking around on his computer does. "When I compose electronic music, the finished song transports a certain feeling throughout the whole song. A piano piece can also transport a feeling, but next to that emotion it can tell a very detailed storyline," he says. This unique characteristic is wonderfully conveyed in 'Life Lately', a musical saga that grows, speeds-up, retreats, tumbles and stands on its feet again. The warm melody acts as a guide throughout the ups and downs