The French pianist Eve Risser seems to muster up the same kind of intimate gestures, ghostly fragments, hypnotic loops and organically-evolving less-is-more soundscapes whether working with a large ensemble or in an intimate setting. For the former check out her stimulating White Desert Orchestra; for the latter look no further than this new debut piano duo recording. Coming in at just under 25-minutes, this exquisite piece was recorded live at FGO Barbara in Paris. Back-of-the-piano creativity is as important to her as playing the keys, and she uncannily directs and arranges the two voices as if an orchestra. An initial ‘prepared piano’ episode suggests a sitar drone, as delicate Satie-ish melodic fragments from the front appear, punctuated by percussive thuds, cracks and followed by an inventively funky groove. At times sounding like a contemporary piano trio, an insistently syncopated, impressionistic chordal piano motif features throughout the final section of the composition riding on intricate percussive grooves that nod to the work of Australian trio The Necks. It’s an intimately mesmerising piece from an original gifted composer.