Advocated by giants of the genre, Hauschka and Nils Frahm, classically trained pianist, violinist, producer, and composer, Poppy Ackroyd turned heads in the neo-classical world with her previous works Escapement and Feathers, as well as her involvement in Hidden Orchestra (Tru Thoughts). Freshly signed to Bjork’s label One Little Indian Records, Ackroyd’s critically acclaimed back catalogue is reissued on CD and vinyl. Classically trained on violin and piano, Ackroyd fell in love with contemporary piano music and with the piano beyond the keys, discovering the world of sound that could be made from other parts of the instrument. Realising the violin had the same potential, she has spent the a few years composing delicate, intricate and beautifully atmospheric music by manipulating and multi-tracking sounds from these two instruments. Her debut album Escapement stays true to this idea. Every sound, with the exception of a few field recordings, is created using only either the piano or the violin. The seven tracks are a combination of piano melodies and chords - played both conventionally or created inside the piano using fingers, e-bows and plectrums - violin textures, melodies and pizzicato ri s and finally delicate beats composed of hits, plucks, taps and scrapes made using hands, drumsticks, beaters and small cymbals on either the frame, strings or dampers of the piano. There are often five or more different percussive lines working alongside each other. In order to compose in this way, Poppy had to learn how to record and produce the music herself, as working with someone else would have been far too time consuming. Having discovered and restored a beautiful but neglected grand piano, she bought a laptop, digital recorder and speakers. Everything from the piano is recorded in her home studio with just this one microphone.
