This convey-belt membership also resulted in a plethora of sonic stylings, from smallbeat Kraftwerkian Meccano Pop on debut album, 'Popular Mechanics' (1997) to the breathless, ethereal, multi-layered melancholy of 'Low Birth Weight' (1998). Only in 1999 did Piano Magic resemble anything like a conventional format group.
Smooth-talked into playing a Dutch festival which actually turned out quite well, they decided to play anywhere they were wanted and began to build something of a cult following, particularly on the European Continent. They spectacularly showcased the post-modernist baroque sound of 'Artists' Rifles' (1999) at the Benicassim and BAM music festivals. Ironically, the band have never infiltrated the hearts of the British music press - out of time, unfashionable and kinda weird looking, its best not to stay home much.
Tours of Germany, Holland, Italy, Belgium, France, Spain peppered the next few years. The band signed to 4AD Records in 2000 and delivered their most critically contentious work, 'Writers Without Homes' and the soundtrack to Spanish director, Bigas Lunas' 'Son De Mar' movie. Though oft-maligned, 'Writers Without Homes' was a particularly monumental milestone for the band, as it featured the first vocal recording for 33 years of lost 60's/70's folk heroine, Vashti Bunyan.
Post-’Writers, Piano Magic have become closer to a more “conventional group format.” Drafting in French musicians, Jerome Tcherneyan and Franck Alba alongside English bassist, Alasdair Steer, Piano Magic recorded 'The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic,' for Spanish independent, Green Ufos. This album perfectly encapsulated the live sound of the group - delicate vocals, glistening guitars, insistent drums, anthemic synth washes. A new record, Saint Marie EP followed in June 2004 and featured collaborations with, again, Vashti Bunyan as well as Alan Sparhawk from Low and Ben Ayres from Cornershop. Piano Magic's 2005 album, 'Disaffected,' stretched fingers into an even more melodic, near-on "pop" sound, magically without dispensing with their notorious depth of emotion.
It features guest vocal contributions from John Grant of The Czars and Angle David-Guillou of Klima (the latter, now with her own debut solo album out on the Peacefrog label). In the 2 interim years between the release of Disaffected and follow-up, the Guy Fixsen-produced, 'Part Monster' (2007), the band continued to be prolific and not only in concert (the band added Turkey, Poland, Italy, Greece and Portugal to their gig list). Johnson released a debut album of experimental electronic under the name, Textile Ranch and along with keyboardist, Cedric Pin, as Future Conditional, put out an album of electropop on LTM, 'We Don't Just Disappear.'
After an uncharacteristically lengthy hiatus in which Johnson worked on his debut solo long-player ('Details Not Recorded,' 2009), Piano Magic released their 10th official album, 'Ovations' (2009) on the pioneering UK independent label, Make Mine Music. 'Ovations,' featuring special guest appearances from Brendan Perry and Peter Ulrich of Dead Can Dance, found Piano Magic at their most confident, melodic and unabashed, merging early 80's coldwave electronics with Eastern European acoustic instrumentation.
in June 2012, Piano Magic released their eleventh full-length album Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet (Second Language/Saint Marie Records). It sees them emerging from beneath the wreckage of previous guitar-heavy releases to re-investigate the darker, more electronic sonic themes of their earlier work. Instant parallels will inevitably be drawn with the ghostly chamber pop of 1999’s Artists Rifles and the even-earlier surreal romanticism of Low Birth Weight. At the core, once again, Glen Johnson’s unashamedly nihilistic ruminations on the human condition, though now shrouded in foggy analogue synth washes, pulsing heart beats, cathedral reverbs and Joe Meek-esque spectral vox. Indeed, this is an album of beautiful, indispensable baroque ghostliness, of disconnected hearts and oceans.
To date, Piano Magic has harboured over 60 sonic orphans with nothing better to do, recorded 11 proper albums, a double CD retrospective and many, many singles. They've outlived several of the labels they’ve recorded for and show no signs of stopping. At this point in time, Piano Magic is Glen Johnson, Franck Alba, Jerome Tcherneyan, Alasdair Steer and Angèle David-Guillou.
www.piano-magic.co.uk
Bad Patient
Piano Magic Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Between his ear and mine
Lost in translation, bad patient
I'm a terrier, a black sheep, half-relation
He's French, a hack, white, Caucasian
We fuck in sadness,
A cold frustration
Our hearts adjacent
He types, I read
And we clash on the keys
He corrects,
I direct the bones of the text
But he's silent,
Too ill, too fragile, too still
And I'm violent and rash,
Slow down for the crash
The lyrics of Bad Patient by Piano Magic describe a dysfunctional and complicated relationship between two partners. The first verse sets the scene with the rain symbolizing the barrier that exists between the two people, who seem to be struggling with communication issues. The use of the phrase "lost in translation" suggests that despite their shared language, they are unable to truly understand each other. The mention of their differing backgrounds - one being a "terrier" and "black sheep," and the other French and Caucasian - highlight the discord between them that extends beyond cultural differences.
The second verse describes the physical aspect of their relationship, which seems to be a source of sadness and frustration for them. However, they do share moments of happiness, as suggested by the phrase "fine for a while, our hearts adjacent." The third verse introduces the idea of collaboration between the two, but again, their efforts are met with conflict. The lines "he corrects, I direct the bones of the text" indicate that they are working on a creative project, but their different approaches cause tension. The final lines of the song suggest that they are both struggling with their individual issues, with one partner being too silent and the other too rash, resulting in a collision or crash.
Overall, the lyrics of Bad Patient paint a picture of a tumultuous and complicated relationship that is plagued with issues of communication, collaboration, and physical intimacy.
Line by Line Meaning
There's rain on the line
Our communication is distorted and unclear
Between his ear and mine
We are struggling to understand each other
Lost in translation, bad patient
Misunderstandings and poor communication make for a frustrating relationship
I'm a terrier, a black sheep, half-relation
I am an outsider, not fully embraced by his family
He's French, a hack, white, Caucasian
He is a stereotypical French artist, but also privileged and disconnected from my experiences
We fuck in sadness,
Our intimacy is tinged with melancholy
A cold frustration
We are emotionally distant, unable to connect
Then we're fine for a while,
Occasionally we have moments of closeness
Our hearts adjacent
We feel a sense of proximity and shared emotion
He types, I read
We collaborate on creative projects, but struggle to find a common vision
And we clash on the keys
Our divergent artistic sensibilities lead to conflict
He corrects,
He attempts to impose his vision onto my work
I direct the bones of the text
I provide the structure and foundation of our creative work
But he's silent,
He withdraws from our work and our relationship
Too ill, too fragile, too still
He is grappling with physical and emotional challenges
And I'm violent and rash,
I react impulsively and without thought
Slow down for the crash
Our relationship is headed for disaster
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MoiAlatriste
There's rain on the line between his ear and mine Lost in translation, bad patient I'm a terrier, a black sheep, half-relation He's French, a hack, white, Caucasian We fuck in sadness, a cold frustration Then we're fine for a while, our hearts adjacent He types, I read and we clash on the keys He corrects, I direct the bones of the text But he's silent, too ill, too fragile, too still and I'm violent and rash, slow down for the crash
@henrychinaski712
Gracias
@henrychinaski712
La canción con mejor letra del mundo
@moonsofjupiter
just a delicate yet deep piece of art.
@josepedragosa3184
No tiene precio, lo que quieran pedir, millones como tantas estrellas tiene el universo,infinito
@henrychinaski712
We fuck in sadness,
a cold frustration
Then we're fine for a while,
our hearts adjacent
BRUTAL!!
@1984vinyl
How can sorrow sounds so beautiful!?
@josepedragosadiaz5424
because It,s Destiny ,England make bands essentials, I can,t explain
@pepepedragosa3095
so beautiful like the day OF my DEATH,like the silence, we are nothing,
@parkersimonson8541
I love those cats