Aurora Maxence Cyrin

• Maxence Cyrin (b. 1971):
• 1 Endless Poetry 03:03
• 2 Mer de velours 03:34
• 3 Larmes glacées 03:23
• 4 A Forest Bird Never Wants a Cage 02:09
• 5 Progressive Nights 03:18
• 6 Silk 01:46
• 7 The Old Lady 02:37
• 8 Nostalgia, Pt. 1 02:44
• 9 Nostalgia, Pt. 2 02:42
• 10 Dusty Raven 02:09
• 11 Tape 02:46
• 12 The Frenchman 02:40
• 13 Apollo 04:16
• 14 Aurora 04:08
• 15 Les Eaux mortes 03:04
• Richard David James (b. 1971):
• 16 James: Polynomial-C 03:07
• Total Runtime 47:26

Info for Aurora

Noted for his original compositions and arrangements as well as for his cover versions, Maxence Cyrin is now back with Aurora, an album which sees the French artist’s touching piano melodies augmented with strings and subtle electronic tonalities.

Aurora, a new album dedicated to Cyrin’s own compositions, brings together a series of 16 pieces performed on the piano (two grand pianos, a Steinway and a Fazioli), which are joined by a string trio as well as various more understated devices, sounds and electronic effects. Four of the pieces, however, are performed using an upright piano, whose tones, created using the mute pedal, take on a deliberately intimate dimension, using cinematic, mysterious colours. Composed over a period of more than two years – a time he describes as “years of solitude” – Aurora, as its title suggests, marks a new departure for Maxence Cyrin. “I wanted to go beyond the solo piano of my early work and draw once again on minimalism, film music and new wave. So each of the pieces on this album is as short as a pop song. I have a ‘pop brain’ when I compose, even if my inspirations are still Beethoven and Debussy on the classical side and, closer to home, Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and Ryuichi Sakamoto.” Over the course of the album, Maxence Cyrin blends a contrast of emotions, while playing on a range of allusions and influences.

Maxence Cyrin, piano

Maxence Cyrin
is a french pianist and composer. After training at the conservatory, he moved on to electronic music and new-wave and made several records during the 90s.

In 2005, he released “Modern Rhapsodies” on FCom, the label founded by DJ Laurent Garnier, where he reinterprets the iconic themes of electronic music from artistes like Massive Attack, Depeche Mode and Aphex Twin as a solo pianist.

In 2010, Maxence made a second album in a similar vein, entitled Novö Piano, in wich he adapted pop, rock and electro tracks from artists as The Pixies, Daft Punk and Arcade Fire.

He also works regularly for the fashion industry for brands like Lanvin, Chanel or Margiela, and has participated in projects in the contemporary art world.

Maxence released and album of original material, “The Fantasist”, in 2012, wich is described as a “fantasized self-portrait”, an imaginary soundtrack combining a strings, piano and vintage synthesizers.

He works actually on a new piano solo album with his own compositions and collaborates with other artists such Miss Kittin and Jay-Jay Johanson.

Booklet for Aurora