Over the past 20 years, legendary producer and songwriter Guy Sigsworth has shaped some of the most iconic music of our generation from the ethereal sounds of Björk to Madonna’s most emphatic, musically-rich moments. His new EP Piano + consists of four, short, meditative piano pieces, which shows Sigsworth for the first time as an artist in his own right.

The “+” of the title refers to the metallic, dulcimer-like edge to the recordings, in addition to cleverly manipulated echo and reverb effects. Sigsworth plays a prepared piano, and appears to be often playing the inside strings like a harp, which is how he introduces the EP in the first track, “Memento”.

In “North”, the second track, a low, booming refrain sounds like threatening, Hans Zimmer brass. All the way through, Sigsworth has multitracked himself, so we hear multiple pianos at a time. In “Nocturne”, the fourth track, reverse effects lend an unsettling and explicitly digital quality.

An abiding quality of the EP is its rhythmic strictness, especially in “Anicca”, the third track, in a five-eight time signature, with syncopated lines being introduced like conveyer belts in a machine. Despite a march-like approach to rhythmic accuracy, Sigsworth music remains hypnotic and human.

Sigsworth’s approach to harmony is unfettered and expressive, with melodies embedded within complex harmonic shifts, rather than out in the open, so the overall result plays out like a sophisticated film score. This EP marks a new and important chapter in Guy Sigsworth’s fascinating and inspiring career.

Guy Sigsworth will release his first ever solo LP stet on 8 March 2019.