The final instalment in a trilogy of piano records, Piano III is Robin Hatch’s latest release, a minimalist neoclassical album, recorded last fall at the Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project in Harleysville, PA. A rare anthropological opportunity that arrived at the culmination of a year playing keyboards on tour in the hardcore punk band Fucked Up.

In addition to piano, “III” additionally incorporates synthesis via contact mics placed on the piano strings and run into synthesizers, specifically an ARP2600 + sequencer (“2600”), as well as an EMS Synthi AKS (heard on “Fairies”).

Influences for Piano III include Alexina Louie, Debussy, Stravinsky, and of course Emerson Lake and Palmer, as well as the solo work and film scores of Keith Emerson. The record also features a Prefab Sprout cover inspired by the styles of Brad Mehldau and Christopher O’Riley.

Weaving Canadiana elements into 20th century techniques and theory, the album conceptually explores the journey of excitement and heartbreak on the roller coaster of opportunity, the desperate clawing at the glass ceiling in the well of potential success, and the importance of keeping your cool. Following the theme of Robin’s previous records, music serves as a sanctuary for intrusive thoughts and extreme directions the human mind can veer to and generate in solitude.