PETER BRODERICK
Docile: Solo Piano Series Vol. 1
KD047CD
Kning Disk 2007
10 Tracks. 26mins58secs

Peter Broderick recently charmed audiences across Europe, joining Efterklang as part of their tour formation (violin) and opening for them, showcasing his incredibly versatile musicianship by playing everything from piano and guitar to violin and musical saw, using tape loops to build delicate and moving pieces rooted in classical music, folk or rock.

Originally hailing from Portland, Oregon, Broderick currently lives in Copenhagen. While he is due to release his first album proper later on in the spring on Type, Broderick recently collected ten piano compositions for a limited CD release on Swedish imprint Kning Disk. Coming at just under half an hour, Docile is a short, often intriguing, and always captivating work, with sumptuous melancholic undertones and beautifully intricate melodies. While his work brings to mind some of the most delicate moments of Max Richter‘s The Blue Notebooks, Broderick weaves silences into his music and plays on intervals with infinite consideration to ad just enough weight to his compositions. The rich textures and crystalline tones of the piano contrast with the sparse atmosphere and serve to underline the changes in the melodic flow or slight variations in the pace of a piece, revealing some of the most poignant moments of this record in the most remote corners.

Written within six days and recorded in less than an hour during the spring of 2007, the ten compositions presented here are united by a common tone and a very distinctive mood which contributes to the fascinating character of this record. There is something deeply evocative and elegant about Broderick’s music. His melodies are beautifully crafted and seem to continuously develop from one composition to the next. From the rarefied atmosphere of Begin, Dearest or Lull to the autumnal drapes of Diverge or Ceasefire and the pastoral brushes of Moment and Query, Broderick adorn his compositions with subtle touches which, in a more elaborate setting, would be lost to the ear, but in this particular context, take considerable significance.

This mini-album, which comes dressed in a stunning oil painting by Nathan Duane Orton, is a truly magnificent collection. Peter Broderick manages to capture the imagination with very limited resource and demonstrates incredible maturity and restraint, making Docile a totally unmissable record.

4.7/5

Peter Broderick (MySpace) | Kning Disk