I think I like piano music
April 19, 2008 4:07 PM   Subscribe

Where can I found more music like this?

I'm looking for more music like this. Specifically deep, melodic, mellow, but not necessarily too mellow.

The song is Comptine d'Un Autre Ete by Yann Tiersen and I believe it's from the Amelie soundtrack.
posted by jjbb to Media & Arts (24 answers total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
It's been mentioned here a lot before, but you can plug one song into Pandora, and it'll create a free "radio station" that plays lots of songs with similar features.
posted by lisa g at 4:15 PM on April 19, 2008


tori amos has much music that sounds like this. but im sure someone will try to steer you away. (lotta tori haters around here from what ive read)

i dont know much at all of her last few albums, but her earlier stuff is similar in ways.
posted by gcat at 4:15 PM on April 19, 2008


yeah, ive been surprisingly happy with pandora.
posted by gcat at 4:16 PM on April 19, 2008


last.fm might be able to point you in the direction of some similar music.
posted by InsanePenguin at 4:19 PM on April 19, 2008


Response by poster: I like Tori Amos, but that's not exactly what I'm looking for.

As for Pandora, I tried before posting and the song does not come up, and the artist does not come up solo, only as "Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright" which has much more vocals than I'm looking for.
posted by jjbb at 4:23 PM on April 19, 2008


Judith Owen

Emily Bezar
posted by txsebastien at 4:24 PM on April 19, 2008


But those won't work if you're looking for mostly instrumental.
posted by txsebastien at 4:25 PM on April 19, 2008


Erik Satie.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 4:26 PM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


jjbb - I, too am in love with that song. Very different from the rest of the Amelie ST. I understand your frustration with trying to find this type of music. It seems to be hidden in strange places. You might like the Mikrokosmos of Bartok, or some of Arvo Pärt's work. Debussy and Chopin both have work that fits in here, but they might be to classical for you. Give em a try.
posted by ikahime at 4:55 PM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


I second Erik Satie. And check out the Solo Piano album from Gonzales. I think these are interpretations of Satie.

also, the soundtrack for Good Bye Lenin, which Yann Tiersen also composed.

Maybe try out some more classical music, like Chopin? I think piano composition reached it's height with him. Listen to the Raindrop Prelude or Pelude Op. 28 for starters. Or go further back to Bach
posted by kolophon at 5:00 PM on April 19, 2008


Gabriel Yared
posted by bricoleur at 5:01 PM on April 19, 2008


You might try The Pearl by Brian Eno and Harold Budd -- ambient, minimalistic piano music.
posted by gg at 5:34 PM on April 19, 2008


The recurring piano music in Diva (1981).

To go in a less Classical direction, there's Vince Guaraldi (more than just Peanuts (and Peanuts was good)), and George Winston's takes on Vince Guaraldi.
posted by coffeefilter at 5:37 PM on April 19, 2008


Big second for Gabriel Yared!! The soundtracks I have had with his stuff are very very nice (City of Angels, The Lover, The English Patient).
posted by whatzit at 5:48 PM on April 19, 2008


George Winston, for sure. My favorite album is Plains, the first track "Dubuque" (iTunes) is especially great.
posted by Sfving at 5:54 PM on April 19, 2008


Also, are you interested in music that is piano-driven, if not piano-exclusive? Here are two more "deep, melodic, mellow" albums -

Ghost by Radical Face (start with "Welcome Home" MP3)

The Ghost Orchid by The Ghost Orchid (MySpace, start with "Warm")

It's not "piano music," but I think you might also like Five Roses by Miracle Fortress (MySpace, start with "Hold Your Secrets to Your Heart")
posted by Sfving at 6:14 PM on April 19, 2008


Michael Nyman -The Piano Soundtrack
posted by kimdog at 7:41 PM on April 19, 2008


Eluvium has a number of piano songs (and a lot of ambient guitar feedback songs, too). Try "Prelude for Time Feelers" on his MySpace page.
posted by dropkick queen at 9:03 PM on April 19, 2008


The Yann Tiersen piece reminded me of the encores from Keith Jarrett's Sun Bear Concerts--a box set of three concerts recorded in Japan. All three are rich, melodic improvisations:
Tokyo
Nagoya
Sapporo
posted by prinado at 9:19 PM on April 19, 2008


You might enjoy Rachel's Systems/Layers. Kind of a similar vibe (though there is a lot more minimalist/abstract/droney stuff on the record than you'd find on the Amélie soundtrack). Don't let the sample song on the Touch & Go site fool you; the mellow piano-ey stuff in "Last Things Last" is typical of the album, but I think it's one of the few songs on the album with any kind of vocals.
posted by aparrish at 10:20 PM on April 19, 2008


George Winston, and to a lesser extent some of the other musicians from the Windham Hill label. From that list, I'd suggest first Liz Story for piano and Michael Hedges for guitar.

If you like the repetitiveness of the Yann Tiersen piece, maybe check out Philip Glass and John Adams, though they're orchestral, not just piano.
posted by edjusted at 10:36 PM on April 19, 2008


Try the solo albums of Ryuichi Sakamoto - e.g. BTTB or 1996, but I must add that some of the pieces have violin in it as well.
posted by lord_yo at 1:40 AM on April 20, 2008


Well, not stylistically similar, but perhaps preferentially similar: Yahoo! Music says that folks who like Yann Tiersen also tend to like:
  • Alain Souchon
  • Renaud
  • Charles Aznavour
  • Rose
  • Thomas Fersen
  • Edith Piaf
  • Air
  • Manu Chao
  • Keren Ann
  • Placebo
  • Radiohead
  • Simon & Garfunkel
  • Mickey 3D
  • Louise Attaque
  • Jacques Dutronc
  • Liane Foly
  • Cali
  • Laurent Voulzy
  • Henri Salvador
  • Axelle Red
  • France Gall
  • Jane Birkin
  • Julien Clerc
  • Serge Gainsbourg
  • Camille
I can't vouch for 'em, since I haven't even heard of most, but I do find Yahoo! Music's 'tends to like' lists useful for uncovering music I'd never heard of before. (Like Harold Budd, whom I just came across via the 'tends to like' feature yesterday).
posted by gregor-e at 8:35 AM on April 20, 2008


Craig Armstrong's "Piano Works" might fit your bill. [Flash, previews are available if you click on the dot market "album tracks" in the lower right corner.]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 12:08 PM on April 20, 2008


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