One of the things I like best about Exposure is the effort that has gone into the presentation of the CD- i.e. it feels like a complete package- so much more than just the music. The poems, pictures and stories contained within the sleeve-notes; you could so easily have just done a basic insert, but you chose not to. Why?

 

I genuinely appreciate you noticing those details, Stephen. Our team devoted lots of love to the presentation of Exposure. I kept on saying this can't be your typical new age / easy listening record with cliché titles (at least they were to me) with titles that are ill-inspired or simply way too obvious- more importantly, how many times do we see a forest, a river, a stream, clouds, waterfalls on the cover of these albums?

 

I love nature- we all need nature, we are living, breathing organic beings. My story is that I am a city boy who still bleeds and requires the same solace and peace as do those who live in the country and wilderness. We opted to juxtapose the melancholic-organic-sensual music with the film-noir, urban, concrete elements city life offers us. A brilliant photographer by the name of Per Kristiansen shot all the abstract photos here in downtown Toronto after the album was completed, and I had provided him with the titles and poems. The poems are simply abstracts and innuendos that accompany the inspiration behind the music.

 

I have a prodigious passion for great design. Since the death of the LP, which provided the visual artist with a bigger canvas for artwork, I feel album art has suffered because of the reduced canvas size on a CD. Therefore, we wanted to give our audience something tactile, something to hold, touch and feel, similar to a mini coffee-table book. The booklet will hopefully arouse discussion over the abstract meanings behind the songs- which I won't bore you with at this moment.

 

Oh please do! Please do! I am sure readers of this are equally intrigued as I am... perhaps you could expand another time. Can you tell us a little about your musical background- was it a musical one? When did you start playing the piano? Did you receive formal training? Did you compose your own music? When was your first break? Do you play any other instruments?

 

I started playing the piano at the age of three. I come from a musical family. My mother and brother are both pianists, and I was fortunate to grow up in a musically nourishing environment. I am a classically trained pianist-musician (The Royal Conservatory- pictured right- and the University of Western Ontario). I started to "really" compose music around the age of ten when I understood the relationship between the notes and harmony. It is hard to define my "first break". I have had remarkable encouragement from a very early age, from three great mentors: Oscar Peterson, André Gagnon and David Foster. I signed with Sony / ATV Music Publishing when I was 22 years old, from then I became a staff songwriter, session player, producer, arranger and conductor with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Co-writing with Aldo Nova Céline Dion's "A New Day Has Come" changed everything for me. This led to wonderful collaborations with the likes of Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, Olivia Newton-John, etc...

 

I play many instruments which help with my knowledge of orchestration and song-writing. However, I am master of only one- the piano obviously.

 

There are a lot of piano lovers who visit Piano-Heaven. I know you record on Yamaha pianos, but for the purists amongst us, can you tell us specifically what type of piano you used for Exposure?

 

Exposure was recorded entirely on my custom-built Yamaha C7 Concert Collection Grand Disklavier Pro Piano (pictured right), maintained by my wonderful piano technician, Wayne H. Ferguson.

 

Who, if any, were / are your musical influences? Whom do you enjoy listening to when you have a moment of peace?

 

Debussy, Satie, Ravel, Chopin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Nick Drake, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, George Gershwin, Kanye West, Thomas Newman, Puccini, Joni Mitchell, Mozart, John Williams, Bach, Yo-Yo Ma, Glenn Gould, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, George Winston, Seal, Madonna, Burt Bacharach, Moby, Eminem, Mahler, Fauré, Keith Jarrett, Barber, Copland....

 

I tend to listen to classical music when I chill. However, I will most often juxtapose my current project with something extreme, particularly when I am completely drenched and fried after 12-14 hours of recording. For example, if I am working and recording an album like Exposure, I may listen to a rap record like Mos Def to cleanse my palette and come back to my art clean the next day, unaffected by something that would sound too close to the style I am working on.

 

I find it fascinating that your album (and most deservedly so) has been doing so well in the current climate where CD sales are falling, and record stores are closing left, right and centre. Your album seems to be bucking the trend. I'm not sure how to categorise your music, or indeed if you would want your music labeled in such a way. New Age? Contemporary Instrumental? Certainly the New Age genre has suffered greatly from its peak in the 1980s. Why do you think this is? What can be done to reverse the trend?

 

It is important to note that this album has been entirely funded by myself and James (my manager)- where our passion for solo piano music brought us both together sixteen years ago. We both recognised early on that we were the only two people who had the passion to drive this record to the right audience. No one understood in the beginning that a solo piano could surpass some of the biggest acts in Pop Music in the charts. James and I have known this all along; we took a risk and followed our gut. A remarkable feat is that radio is not driving our success- it's simply the music, the quality of the recording, the presentation, live shows and strong word-of-mouth.

 

Times are volatile in the music industry- people are unsure of things, afraid to commit, afraid to spend- ironically we thought it couldn't be a better time to swim against those currents. I believe this is one of the reasons why this recording stands out.

 

Once again, your observations are extremely acute; we've been slotted everywhere from Classical, to pop, to Roots, to New Age, to Jazz.... I honestly don't care how they categorise my music; I only care that it reaches the people and that people are able to find solace and a friendship in this album- one that they can turn to for years to come.

 

I can only offer my personal observations on why the New Age genre may seem to have suffered. The genre is too gentrified as of late- it has been bothering me for quite some time. There are many brilliant players, and sadly they are lost among the many mediocre recordings in this field- we'd be lying to ourselves if we said this wasn't the case. It's a shame, because New Age music at its best, at the core, is a beautiful and wondrous thing. Its purpose is to soothe, heal, bring peace and solace, allow the listener to escape to a more desirable place. The internet has not helped control this gentrification, and at the same time, it has done extraordinary things to widen its audience.

 

When we lose control of things, we crash. We are then forced to re-construct and re-build. I believe great things are ahead of us with instrumental music- it never left us- it simply became cloudy. I am very excited of what is to come!

 

I'm intrigued by the track David's Whisper. You seem to infer that David's spiritual presence- a figure from the past- offered you a guiding hand in the creative process of writing the album. Can you tell us more about David?

 

I stood beside Michelangelo's ‘David’ (right) in Florence, Italy, recently. I was swept away by its beauty and elegance. I sat there for hours in awe of this statue born from the hands of this great artist called Michelangelo.

 

This experience re-adjusted my values artistically- actually the entire Italian trip did. I was fresh off the success of A New Day Has Come, and I started to think then that it would be possible to make a solo piano recording- and make it accessible to the people, to the world.

 

It was as if David was whispering to me that you can do anything you want, "go record your album!" I know, I know, I know, it does sound trite and clichéd. However, I did not expect David to ignite this feeling inside. Hence, there was something very spiritual and religious, almost out of body in that moment.

 

It doesn't sound at all trite to me. It's almost as if this experience was the moment of your calling- and the musical journey you have since made has been your pilgrimage. This intense personal experience has perhaps helped you to compose your very best music. Anyway, moving on, away from music, how do you relax?

 

It's hard to shut the brain off. I wish I knew how to relax away from the piano.... playing with my daughter brings me great joy.

 

Let's talk briefly about the creative process. How does it work with you? Does a tune tinkle away inside your head and then you work on it at the piano? Are the tracks improvisations? Are they tightly structured? Do you work on them again and again until you're satisfied with the finished product?

 

It never ends, Stephen.... the music keeps playing inside my head over and over and over and over.... even though I am a classical musician first, I am pre-wired instinctively like a pop songwriter. My composition process is rather raw; I don't linger and self-indulge too long on excessive stuff musically (it is the pop arranger in me), not to be mistaken for allowance or breathing room between notes. Therefore, all the pieces on Exposure, are a series of worked improvisations. I improvise to get the organic pure natural juice from the music, and then structure the piece into some kind of form until it feels right. The song Cadeau was a moment of pure bliss; what you hear on the album, is the actual moment it was dripping off my fingers- luckily I had the Record button on!

 

And finally.... has the success of Exposure fired you into recording more original material in the future? I hope the answer to this question is "Yes!" What can we expect next from you?

 

A fervent YES Stephen!!!! Believe it or not, I have almost two other albums recorded and ready. Now that doesn't mean I am going to necessarily release those particular pieces anytime soon. Let's just say that I will forever believe that there is a place for sensual piano music.... I will never stop recording this kind of music. Having said that, I believe in evolution, I believe in growth- I will leave a little room for surprises....

 

Excellent news, Stephan. I hope we don't have to wait too long to hear this new material. Thank you for such an insightful interview.