All you need is a kick drum and a piano

All you need is a kick drum and a piano

29 April, 2009 | 11.21AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: benno blome, martin eyerer

What does it take to make a club hit these days? Martin Eyerer and Benno Blome are hoping a kick drum and a piano is all you need, as demonstrated by their bravely simple new tool ‘Pianoroll’.

Over nine minutes the pair layer an improvisational jazzy piano session over a never-ending kick drum and bass combo. There’s no breakdown, no build up, no FX, no hi hats - nothing. Diddly squat.

So have they gone completely mad, or are they in fact geniuses?

Only time will tell if ‘Pianoroll’ will work in the clubs, but I’ve got a sneaky suspicion it will because it is the epitome of minimal and the exact opposite of the genre all at the same time.

From an aesthetics points of view, ‘Pianoroll’ is about as basic as it can get, but from a musical perspective it’s full of life, melody and story telling.

The piano evolves, sometimes sounding sad, sometimes sounding joyful, and it sucks you in because there’s nothing else that can distract you. You’re left wondering where the piano will go, and anticipation is one of the most powerful emotions a DJ or a dance music track can create.

Suspense is inevitable, and if a DJ is talented enough, he will be able to use ‘Pianoroll’ as an introduction to something truly earth-moving. Could you imagine hearing that piano zip out of the speakers for nine minutes, locking the crowd onto its one sound like a spotlight might focus on the hands of a pianist, before dropping a monstrous bassline or breakbeat from behind the curtains, like a chorus might spring to life in the theatre? ‘Pianoroll’ is also perfectly set up for some accapella vocal action, or some driving hi hat mixing.

See the imagination is running wild already, and that makes it a deliciously versatile DJ tool.

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