MUSIC

New album Night Walk out everywhere

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Debut solo piano album Path of Least Resistance out everywhere

LISTEN NOW

ABOUT

Simeon Abbott is a Toronto-based record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer whose work has been described as “an ethereal wonderland of sound and texture” (Critical Jazz). Known as one-half of the synthpop duo YSSY and the keyboardist for beloved live music collective Dwayne Gretzky, the Estevan-born, Calgary-raised musician is a familiar player in Toronto’s pop, rock, and jazz scenes.

For his debut as a solo artist, Abbott found himself returning to his native instrument to translate mainstream popular songwriting forms into contemporary solo piano idioms. The resulting album, Path of Least Resistance (2020), was equal parts expressive and minimal, with memorable melodies carefully constructed to engender a sense of comfort and peace during a time of upheaval for artists and audiences alike.

Abbott’s new release, Night Walk (2022), serves as a companion piece to his first record, this time with the darker timbre of felt piano. Inspired by the calm of late hours and expansiveness of nature, this collection of music is a soundtrack of meditative moments. Abbott shares, “The creation of Night Walk was an exploration of sound and texture. While experimenting with space to create a more enveloping sonic world, I found myself relating the compositional process to a walk in nature, where inner solitude and mindfulness can be accessible and restorative.”

Abbott has performed with July Talk, Ron Sexsmith, Teen Ravine, Danielle Duval, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, John Oswald, Michael Snow, Dave Clark, Carleigh Aikins, and Jane Bunnett. Notable live appearances include Canada Rocks with the Rolling Stones, CBC Radio’s Q, the JUNO Awards, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, Jason Collett’s Basement Revue, Gordon Lightfoot & Friends, an all-day 99-song telethon livestreamed around the world, and eminent jazz, folk, and pop music festivals across the continent.