Following on from his recent collaboration with Monomotion on the emotive piano-tech-ballad that Another Story, Piers is back with his latest solo effort, Significant Kind.
The red thread that connects these two releases is a level of attention to small details. Where Another Story was all about creating space for the piano at its core, Significant Kind is a more focused on layered percussion and the interplay of texture.
Based around a central melodic riff and a repeated vocal, it is actually the underlying detail that really holds my attention here… Subtle cymbals, the little click tracks that underpin the drums, tiny glitchy details.
Significant Kind marks a departure for Piers, the charting out of a new direction:
“My world is changing fast, and so is the music. In a world where everyone needs to fit to a trend, I just want mine to be worth listening to.”
Piers Thibault was born in Normandy, but moved to Houston in Texas at a young age. The impact of the US is something he still carries with him, unlocking his sense of creativity and awareness of culture. Following a move back to France, Piers felt displaced and alienated, but eventually dove into the world of music and clubbing at a young age:
“I wasn’t interested in doing drugs, and alcohol wasn’t my thing. I was the only one going out to actually listen to the music. It took me a few years to realize that it wasn’t just a phase—it was my passion.”
This sentiment resonates for me, as someone who moved to Sheffield in the UK in my late teens just to get closer to the nightclub and music scene I had become obsessed by. I had little interest in the drugs, and not enough money to pay the drinks prices at nightclubs… Instead, my friends and I would stay up until dawn, just dancing and enjoying the music.
You can also hear Piers’ devotion in his sound — it is precisely why the music has a transcendent quality. It isn’t intended to be in the background, and instead is an immersive experience.