In music and art I’m interested in minimalism, space and subtlety – creating a lot with a little. I’m interested to find big emotions by using minimal techniques which is maybe more direct…I’m attracted to things that makes you want to be drawn in, pull you in slowly, rather than being bombarded with something.
– Dustin O’Halloran (interview at 200%.com)
There’s really nothing more satisfying than stumbling upon beautiful music at the exact moment your senses are yearning for it. I first heard today’s featured piece Opus 23 during a cool-down Pilates class at the gym a month ago. You see timing is everything, since it lofted in just as my body was easing into stillness and my mind was calm and settled. As soon as the first few bars of Opus 23 played, I shot my arm up to ask what it was – and funny enough, the lady next to me was just as curious. Thankfully, the instructor shared the title with us and it went straight into my quick memo app.
What’s curious is how my connection to Opus 23 seems to shift depending on how tuned in I am. If my mind’s racing or I’m caught up in distractions, it barely lands. But when I’m in a peaceful, open state – like early in the morning, my favourite time to listen to music it hits completely differently. That’s when it truly sinks in and I find myself swept up in it.
The following was mostly extracted from the Wikipedia article below:
The composer is American pianist Dustin O’Halloran. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O’Halloran is a film and TV composer. He is as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen which is an American ambient music duo composed of himself and Adam Wiltzie. O’Halloran was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and spent most of his childhood in Hawaii and Los Angeles. While studying art at Santa Monica College, he met singer Sara Lov, with whom he founded indie rock band Dévics in 1998. When the group signed with Bella Union in 2001, they relocated to Romagna, Italy, where O’Halloran lived for seven years.
Today’s featured piece Opus 23 was first released on his Piano Solos Volume 2 (2004) and appeared on the soundtrack of Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette. O’Halloran discusses in the 200% interview below his penchant for playing the lower register of the piano and the emergence of neo-classical ambient music. For more information on O’Halloran’s extensive musical career, I point you the references below.
The video for Opus 23 below was beautifully animated by Italian director Marco Morandi.
References:
1. Dustin O’Halloran – Wikipedia
2. Music Dustin O’Halloran interview – 200%.com
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I understand both as a musician and writer. Big emotions and ideas in a few words.
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