stephan moccio – color
when discussing his debut album stephan moccio expressed a yearning for simplicity as the basis. a collection of 22 short pieces for solo piano, exposure was not only a showcase for moccio’s knack for melody, but a glimpse into the songwriter’s music in its original, ungarnished state. similarly, color consists of brief musical snapshots, each signifying a particular theme. the result is an album that feels more like flipping through a painter’s sketchbook than viewing a single complete work.
it would be unfair, however, to suggest that color is merely a grab bag of discarded ideas. moccio displays a sophisticated use of brevity to convey meaning without overstating the point. the insistent chimes of “hourglass” seem to have hardly begun before abruptly fading into nothingness. in all of 45 seconds, the piece manages to be a gentle yet poignant reminder of the transience of time.
the album closes with a re-imagining of “october”, a piece which first appeared on exposure, now underscored by a lush string accompaniment and a driving rhythm section. fully realized, “october” demonstrates the potential for expansion in moccio’s deceptively simple compositions, achieving a sense of drama only hinted at on exposure.
yet by juxtaposing full orchestration with solo piano, moccio has unwittingly divided the album against itself. color, it seems, is caught between exposure’s sketchbook-like quality and the urge to transfer those sketches to the canvas.
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