A lot has happened since Sufjan Stevens entered the hearts of dreamy pop fans with »Carrie & Lowell«: the multi-instrumentalist recently worked his way through the five stages of grief on his ambient album »Convocations«, and now presents his second composition for piano, »Reflections«. But to make sure things don’t get boring, there are two this time. The video for the first single, »Ekstasis«, shows pianists Timo Andres and Conor Hanick hammering away at their pianos in eccentric drumming motions: »I’m always thinking about bodies moving through space when I’m writing for ballet – that’s what influenced this music in the first place,« says Stevens.
The studio recording was originally composed in 2019 as music for a Houston Ballet production of the same name. For example, Stevens, who is fond of jumping between moods and genres, expresses his love of classical piano music on »Reflections«. Between Stravinsky etude and Chopin nocturne, Sufjan Stevens blasts the two pianos into the here and now. And despite all the ecstasy, it remains real, at least that’s what the last track promises: »And I Shall Come To You Like A Stormtrooper In Drag Serving Imperial Realness«.
