Otto A. Totland - Exin

A Closer Listen

In a crowded field of felted piano albums, there’s something that sets Otto A. Totland apart. It’s hard to be sure precisely why, but his music has a magical quality that elevates it and makes it transcend the average.

Perhaps it is because of his gift for memorable melodies, or his knack for crafting captivating chord sequences, his exquisite timing, the perfect placement of his tenutos, the gorgeous phrasing of his playing, the exceptional sound-design (thanks to Nils Frahms’s Funkhaus Studio), or his openness to referencing other genres—or maybe all of the above. It’s hard to be sure. Whatever it is, there’s a sweetness here that will really brighten your day.

New album Exin captivates us right from the opening melody with the gorgeous melancholy of “Savely”. “Seveight” spins through an unusual time signature (look closely at the title and you’ll figure which one).“Fivril” reminds us of that entrancing scene in American Beauty where the plastic bag twirls in the wind as if dancing.

If “The French” is reminiscent of the unpredictable harmonic shifts and left hand patterns of Erik Satie, “Marka” transports us further back, to the world of the Baroque dance suite, before the jazz-tinged “Tapper” moves us back to the 20th century. “Ono” is a particular highlight, with a sparking melody, as is “Soma”, a track that would make the perfect soundtrack to a sunset. Each track is over before you know it, like a tiny fragments of beauty flashing past on the stream, leaving you wanting more. (Garreth Brooke)