This album has something to surprise. First of all, the name is misleading: the homophonic shift does not erase the resonance associated with Honky Tonk, which itself evokes a saloon’s rickety piano that a movie-villain would silence with his six-shooter. The music of this first album by Tönky Hönk, a keyboard duo from Winnipeg, has absolutely nothing to do with the music usually played there. The two members of this piano duo, Madeline Hildebrand and Everett Hopfner, had the idea to propel this rather classic instrumental format (the piano duo) into new horizons, significantly broadening the concept of “piano.” Indeed, and alternately according to the demands of the music, the two performers play on a pair of Fender Rhodes, a prepared piano facing a toy piano, or a classical piano in front of a Fender Rhodes. The result is enchanting and original.
Twinlings by Adrian Knight, for two Fender Rhodes, offers soothing, contemplative sounds, straddling a neoclassical minimalism (but more abstract, harmonically) and an ethereal universe. The aura of mystery and dreaminess is accentuated by the instrument’s vibrant resonance, more commonly associated with jazz and rock (like The Doors).
Phyllis Chen with Hush, on the other hand, transports us to a slightly more dynamic world. The piece, the longest on the album at around six minutes, also dons a veil of mystery, but one that is stranger, even disconcerting. The jangling sounds of the prepared piano and the juvenile tones of the toy piano create unexpected combinations that the composer manages to keep seductive despite everything. The music becomes more lively as it progresses, giving the impression of witnessing the somewhat grotesque dance of a little automaton gone mad.
Julian Beutel concludes the trilogy of new works on this album with Jam Factory for piano and Fender Rhodes, divided into two parts. The first is of a repetitive nature, like Reich or Reilly, and based on an exciting rhythmic construction. The Fender Rhodes proves to be an ideal companion for the classical piano. Its timbral resonance becomes like a sound envelope for the pointed, sharp notes of its acoustic cousin. The second movement is imbued with zen-like tranquillity and a serene introspection.
Kudos to this duo from Winnipeg for coming up with the idea for this amazing contemporary music album and, above all, frankly soothing.
