Dustin O'Halloran
Also part of A Winged Victory for the Sullen.
A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O'Halloran's personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure Read Full BioAlso part of A Winged Victory for the Sullen.
A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O'Halloran's personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure, intuitive, personal expression – and here is where we see some explanation into Dustin's quiet rise to notoriety and his continued ascension.
Having gained serious recognition with his stunning score to Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette (which sits neatly alongside his soundtrack work for William Olsen's An American Affair (2010) and Drake Doremus' Sundance-winning Like Crazy (2011), Dustin has quickly become one of the most recogniseable names in the broad-reaching “post-classical” field, a definition of the genre rather than vice-versa. Now sitting alongside peers and friends Max Richter, Hauschka and Johann Johannsson (who, incidentally, aided Dustin in mixing his newest album) on FatCat's dedicated orchestral imprint 130701, new album Lumiere is a glowing addition to O'Halloran's musical canon, at once an amalgamation of everything that his music has been leading up to, and an unprecedented step forwards in terms of timbral palette and harmony. Featuring NYC’s ACME Quartet, Stars Of The Lid's Adam Wiltzie and prodigious young composer Peter Broderick among the guest musicians, the scale of Lumiere is expansive: “it made me realize how important it is to find players that truly understand what you do and to create a language with them,” writes Dustin.
Dustin's rock background - primarily with Bella Union's “dream-pop” outfit Devics – has yielded an unassuming, perceptive approach to composing modern classical pieces. Inspired by, among others, Arvo Part, Philip Glass, Hans Otte, John Luther Adams, Olivier Messiaen, Ennio Morricone, Gavin Bryars, there is no lack of articulation or academic musicality in Dustin's work, but there is also none of the aloofness or detachment that is so readily perceived around contemporary classical music. This can perhaps be attributed to the environments in which Dustin has worked - Lumiere is full of those rare elements of life shared by both vibrant cities and lush countrysides: colour, both organic and rich, sensorial intrigue and a deep awareness of space. Or perhaps it is a product of Dustin's synaesthesia, a condition he first noticed around the time of his performance at New York's Guggenheim Museum for their Kandisnky retrospective and 50th anniversary gala. Able to visualize his compositions as vividly as a painter might see his own work, Dustin's expressiveness is beyond compare.
Lumiere is Dustin's third solo full-length, following Bella Union albums released in 2004 and 2006 respectively (Piano Solos vol. 1 and Piano Solos vol. 2). These two records were originally opportunity for Dustin to express a non-Devics creative streak: gently and privately pieced together piano suites written and recorded on a beautifully-restored 1920's Sabel piano in his Italian farmhouse. The compositions, however, gradually grew into fully-formed solo pieces as Dustin's ambitions and designs developed. The path, of course, would eventually lead him to Lumiere's majestic, swooning ensemble arrangements and a focus-shift away from the piano as his work's primary timbre without losing any of the affection for the instrument that bore his first two records.
A sublime solo live album - entitled Vorleben – was released by FatCat / 130701 in June 2010.
(2) American post-classical pianist and composer Dustin O'Halloran (born September 1971) began his musical life a guitarist. He has claimed in interviews that he didn't really begin to study the piano in earnest until he was in college and studying music. While attending Santa Monica College, he met Sara Lov and started the band Dévics. The quartet released four albums and six singles on Bella Union between 1998 and 2006. O'Halloran began to take the piano seriously while with the band, and then in formal music studies in both Italy and Berlin (where he now resides). He released his first two albums, entitled Piano Solos, Vol. 1 and Piano Solos, Vol. 2 on Bella Union in 2004 and 2006, respectively. During the latter year he was given the opportunity to score filmmaker Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette. In 2009, he composed the score for director William Olsen's An American Affair, which was released on the Filter imprint before the film. In 2010, he scored director Drake Doremus' feature Like Crazy (which won an award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011). Lumiere, his debut album for Fat Cat's orchestral 130701 imprint was issued in February 2011 to stellar reviews. It featured O'Halloran's piano in a slightly more populated sonic field that included other musicians like the ACME Quartet, Stars of the Lid's Adam Wiltzie, and fellow composer Peter Broderick. This was followed by a live solo piano recording, Vorleben, on the same label in June of that year. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O'Halloran's personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure Read Full BioAlso part of A Winged Victory for the Sullen.
A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O'Halloran's personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure, intuitive, personal expression – and here is where we see some explanation into Dustin's quiet rise to notoriety and his continued ascension.
Having gained serious recognition with his stunning score to Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette (which sits neatly alongside his soundtrack work for William Olsen's An American Affair (2010) and Drake Doremus' Sundance-winning Like Crazy (2011), Dustin has quickly become one of the most recogniseable names in the broad-reaching “post-classical” field, a definition of the genre rather than vice-versa. Now sitting alongside peers and friends Max Richter, Hauschka and Johann Johannsson (who, incidentally, aided Dustin in mixing his newest album) on FatCat's dedicated orchestral imprint 130701, new album Lumiere is a glowing addition to O'Halloran's musical canon, at once an amalgamation of everything that his music has been leading up to, and an unprecedented step forwards in terms of timbral palette and harmony. Featuring NYC’s ACME Quartet, Stars Of The Lid's Adam Wiltzie and prodigious young composer Peter Broderick among the guest musicians, the scale of Lumiere is expansive: “it made me realize how important it is to find players that truly understand what you do and to create a language with them,” writes Dustin.
Dustin's rock background - primarily with Bella Union's “dream-pop” outfit Devics – has yielded an unassuming, perceptive approach to composing modern classical pieces. Inspired by, among others, Arvo Part, Philip Glass, Hans Otte, John Luther Adams, Olivier Messiaen, Ennio Morricone, Gavin Bryars, there is no lack of articulation or academic musicality in Dustin's work, but there is also none of the aloofness or detachment that is so readily perceived around contemporary classical music. This can perhaps be attributed to the environments in which Dustin has worked - Lumiere is full of those rare elements of life shared by both vibrant cities and lush countrysides: colour, both organic and rich, sensorial intrigue and a deep awareness of space. Or perhaps it is a product of Dustin's synaesthesia, a condition he first noticed around the time of his performance at New York's Guggenheim Museum for their Kandisnky retrospective and 50th anniversary gala. Able to visualize his compositions as vividly as a painter might see his own work, Dustin's expressiveness is beyond compare.
Lumiere is Dustin's third solo full-length, following Bella Union albums released in 2004 and 2006 respectively (Piano Solos vol. 1 and Piano Solos vol. 2). These two records were originally opportunity for Dustin to express a non-Devics creative streak: gently and privately pieced together piano suites written and recorded on a beautifully-restored 1920's Sabel piano in his Italian farmhouse. The compositions, however, gradually grew into fully-formed solo pieces as Dustin's ambitions and designs developed. The path, of course, would eventually lead him to Lumiere's majestic, swooning ensemble arrangements and a focus-shift away from the piano as his work's primary timbre without losing any of the affection for the instrument that bore his first two records.
A sublime solo live album - entitled Vorleben – was released by FatCat / 130701 in June 2010.
(2) American post-classical pianist and composer Dustin O'Halloran (born September 1971) began his musical life a guitarist. He has claimed in interviews that he didn't really begin to study the piano in earnest until he was in college and studying music. While attending Santa Monica College, he met Sara Lov and started the band Dévics. The quartet released four albums and six singles on Bella Union between 1998 and 2006. O'Halloran began to take the piano seriously while with the band, and then in formal music studies in both Italy and Berlin (where he now resides). He released his first two albums, entitled Piano Solos, Vol. 1 and Piano Solos, Vol. 2 on Bella Union in 2004 and 2006, respectively. During the latter year he was given the opportunity to score filmmaker Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette. In 2009, he composed the score for director William Olsen's An American Affair, which was released on the Filter imprint before the film. In 2010, he scored director Drake Doremus' feature Like Crazy (which won an award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011). Lumiere, his debut album for Fat Cat's orchestral 130701 imprint was issued in February 2011 to stellar reviews. It featured O'Halloran's piano in a slightly more populated sonic field that included other musicians like the ACME Quartet, Stars of the Lid's Adam Wiltzie, and fellow composer Peter Broderick. This was followed by a live solo piano recording, Vorleben, on the same label in June of that year. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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Opus 23
Dustin O'Halloran Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics can frequently be found in the comments below, by filtering for lyric videos or browsing the comments in the different videos below.
dr vanex
In the video, I felt I saw the life of the actual artist. In the beginning he was floating in the air aimlessly, as some people float in life lacking purpose, then a crow I believe pops his balloon forcing the artist to stay grounded, the bird to me could be someone like a father or an important figure reminding the artist to find something worthwhile. So he plummets down to the ocean and sinks down into the depths of the sea, almost as if one has to really dive deep within oneself to find purpose, asking yourself, "what's important, what's my purpose in life" so he finds himself upon a grand piano, and he plays. In the scene where the mermaid is first introduced, it represents the artist love life, he may have encountered a love with someone. But just as quickly as she came, an giant octupus creeps by and scares the mermiad away. To me the giant octopus represented a great obstacle, a problem, a danger which drove the girl in the artist's life, away. So in the next scene he was found alone with the grand piano, and you see him retreat inside. To me it represented that he used his passion to save him from heartbreak. Next you see the piano submerge, break surface from the depths. And he uses his piano as a life boat to keep him surfaced and to withstand the storms. Sometimes our passions saves us from life's storms..eventually the clouds disperse. Sun comes out. Time has passed and crows appear again bit this time in a large group. To me this is his family for emotional support. In which the following scene you see them elevate him to the skies, but just before that, the mermaid appeara again and gives him a shiney star which he takes. To me this means that the girl he once lost, came back into his life and she gave him unconditional love . So after the crows take him to the skies, they lead him to the city. A land of prosperity, business. And he is set center stage in front of a crowd. To me it signifies that he has made something of himself finally, found his purpose. The glow of the star is found on his chest, and he is inside the piano rather than sitting on the bench stroking the keys. To me it represents that the artist does not do this for fame or money, but for soul, and passion driven. And the love from his mermaid reminds him of that.
Shlok Kapoor
❤️❤️❤️
Jason Leifer
Great description that really fits the video.
lena gonzalez
Alex Galvan that's deep
Shepherd Yancey
Alex Galvan I continually find myself returning to his music, it's so very heartfelt like he expresses himself through the notes...my favorite peace of his is opus 55, that piece moves me in the same way that I'm sure this song does you.
dr vanex
@shepherd yancey I still listen to this video every now and again
Steven Lamb
This song makes me think of all the people in the world, living their lives, looking out their windows, going home on the bus, with that same feeling of sadness, what are we all doing here? What is our purpose? We're all just trying to get by, and that sadness follows us, that feeling of hopelessness, with interludes of beauty.
Cameron Shiell
Not sadness, pensive
Alexis Touss
Good things never last
regi
Just to suffer