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Biography
Use dmy dates|date=February 2012Use British English|date=February 2012Infobox musical artist | name = Piano Magic| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = London , England| instrument =| genre = Indie rock , ambient pop , post-rock | occupation =| years_active = 1996–present| label = Make Mine Music Important Records Darla Records Green UFOs Monopsone Records 4AD Rocket Girl Records Acuarela Records Morr Music Acetone Records Lissy's Records Bad Jazz Records Staalplaat Piao& #33; Records i/Che Records | current_members = Glen Johnson (musician)|Glen Johnson Jerome Tcherneyan Alasdair Steer Franck Alba | associated_acts = Textile Ranch Klima Future Conditional Icebreaker International The Eaves Charles Atlas ISAN The Bitter Springs Ellis Island Sound Citay Matthew Sawyer & The Ghosts Tarwater Vashti Bunyan Life Without Buildings | website = http://www.piano-magic.co.uk www.piano-magic.co.uk| current_members = Glen Johnson (musician)|Glen Johnson Jerome Tcherneyan Alasdair Steer Franck Alba | past_members = Dominic Chennell (musician)|Dominic Chennell Dick Rance Paul Tornbohm Alexander Perls Jen Adam Ezra Feinberg Charles Wyatt (musician/writer)|Charles Wyatt Caroline Potter Miguel Marin John Cheves Cedric Pin | notable_instruments = Piano Magic is a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson (musician)|Glen Johnson , Dominic Chennell , and Dick Rance in London , England . Their sound has been described as ambient pop , post-rock , indietronica, coldwave, dark wave and ghostrock.By whom|date=August 2010 While the most recent releases have seen them operating with a traditional band format, they originally started their career with the intention to base their recordings around their small nucleus and whoever else would like to contribute. Glen Johnson is the only remaining band member from the original trio.
History
Formation and early years: 1996–1998
Piano Magic was formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England, as a 'bedroom-studio' project with the intention to base their recordings around their small nucleus and whoever else would like to contribute.
Originally reluctant to perform live, they gave way to label pressure when their first single proved popular on BBC Radio 1 John Peel show Vinita Joshi, http://www.rocketgirl.co.uk/ Rocket Girl Press Release (rgirl 31) 22 October 2001 and was awarded Single of the Week in Melody Maker.Melody Maker, "Single of The Week", 9 November 1996 While recruiting Paul Tornbohm to play drums at these gigs, they pointedly refused to play or sound like any of their released material.Andy Kellman, http://www.allmusic.com/ Allmusic retrieved 16 November 2008
Popular Mechanics (album)|Popular Mechanics appeared on i/Ché in 1997, a debut album which the press variously described as "ethereal electro pop atmospheric soundscapes"Rob Young, The Wire, "Piano Magic Popular Mechanics", February 1998 or "simply delighting in... making silly noises"Mark Luffman, Melody Maker, "Piano Magic Popular Mechanics", November 1997 and which the band thought of as "Small Beat, pre-chip... radiophonics". It included vocals by Hazel Burfitt and Raechel Leigh but, with Rance having quit the band, combined two previous single releases with a set of new recordings by Johnson and Chennell.
The duo then briefly recruited American music students, Alexander Perls, Jen Adam and Ezra Feinberg to complete the band, http://www.piano-magic.co.uk/ Piano Magic official site timeline retrieved 16 November 2008 though Chennell too had departed by the time of the second album release Low Birth Weight in 1998, a record described as "dreamy, trance and organic psychedelia".George Parsons, Dream Magazine, "Piano Magic Low Birth Weight", December 2001 It introduced the vocals of Caroline Potter who would sing on one further album.
Mid-period: 1999–2004
By 1999 only Johnson remained from the original trio and the departure of Chennell leaving him free to lead the band into a much more conventional format and sound. A line-up of Glen Johnson, Miguel Marin, John Cheves and Paul Tornbohm recorded the third album, Artists' Rifles (album)|Artists’ Rifles with John A Rivers (producer of Dead Can Dance and Felt) and showcased its guitar based sound, "a mixture of chiming guitars and processional rhythms",Tom Ridge, The Wire, "Piano Magic Artists' Rifles", June 2000 at the Benicassim and BAM music festivals. By now, Piano Magic was proving more popular abroad than in their homeland and the next few years' activity included mainly European tours.
The band, now minus Cheves, signed to 4AD Records in 2000 and released the soundtrack for Spanish director, Bigas Luna s' Son de Mar (soundtrack)|Son de Mar movie in 2001 described as "ethereal, delayed guitar lines... accompanied by various ambient sounds".Joe McIver, Record Collector, "Son De Mar(Music From The Film by Bigas Luna)", November 2001
Jerome Tcherneyan then replaced Miguel Marin on drums and the second and last album with 4AD, 'Writers Without Homes' in 2002, was released with mixed press reaction; "exquisite, if a touch diffident"The Independent, "Piano Magic Writers Without Homes", 7 June 2002 and "confused, unfocused, fragile." http://www.scaruffi.com/vol6/pianomag.html Piano Magic retrieved 8 December 2008. Its myriad guest artists imported talents from Cocteau Twins , The Czars , Tarwater , Life Without Buildings and Tram . It also featured the first vocal recording for thirty-three years of lost '60s/'70s folk heroine, Vashti Bunyan .
With the addition of Franck Alba and Alasdair Steer, 'The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic' was released in 2003 on the Green Ufos label soliciting comparisons with This MortalCoil and Durutti Column.David Sheppard, Mojo, "Piano Magic The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic", December 2003
Recent years: 2005 to present
Cedric Pin joined Piano Magic in time for the 2005 album, Disaffected with a melodic, nearly "pop" sound, featuring more guest vocal contributions from John Grant (musician)|John Grant of The Czars and Angèle David-Guillou of Klima . It appeared to confirm a return to their 'exile' status gaining significant attention abroad (including, for example, full feature in the French daily Liberation Liberation, 18 April 2005) but with no coverage at all in any UK broadsheet or music magazine. http://www.piano-magic.co.uk/news.html Piano Magic Official Site retrieved 9 December 2008
The album Part Monster was released in 2007 produced by Guy Fixsen of Laika .
In 2008, Piano Magic moved to Make Mine Music, an artist-run, artist-owned label collective and released a new EP, Dark Horses , the last release to feature Cedric Pin.
In 2009, Piano Magic released their 10th official album Ovations with contributions by Brendan Perry and Peter Ulrich of Dead Can Dance .
Release date for the new album Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet is 11th of June 2012.
The band's current line-up is Franck Alba, Glen Johnson, Angèle David-Guillou, Alasdair Steer and Jerome Tcherneyan.
Related projects
Glen Johnson released a solo album, Details Not Recorded , under his own name in March 2009 on the Make Mine Music label.
Cedric Pin and Glen Johnson have recorded as 'Future Conditional'. Glen Johnson has recorded as 'Textile Ranch'. Dominic Chennell has recorded as 'Dominic de Nebo' and with the group 'Carphology Collective'.
Discography
Albums
Popular Mechanics (album)|Popular Mechanics , (i/Che, 1997)
