Sebastian Plano

Sebastian Plano is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist from Argentina. Born into a musical family, he started playing cello by the age of 7, and writing his own music by the age of 12. If that’s not already exceptional enough, his upcoming EP will be sure to impress — it’s a collaboration with Jeffrey Zeigler of the famed Kronos Quartet, and it will feature a full hour of new arrangements. Sebastian says that making music is an absolute necessity for him, and after watching his moving project video, we totally believe him. We’re also a little misty-eyed. (He’s also our Project of the Day.)

Kickstarter Team - Kickstarter.com

Sebastian Plano is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist from Argentina. Born into a musical family, he started playing cello by the age of 7, and writing his own music by the age of 12. If that’s not already exceptional enough, his upcoming EP will be sure to impress — it’s a collaboration with Jeffrey Zeigler of the famed Kronos Quartet, and it will feature a full hour of new arrangements. Sebastian says that making music is an absolute necessity for him, and after watching his moving project video, we totally believe him. We’re also a little misty-eyed. (He’s also our Project of the Day.)

Kickstarter Team - Kickstarter.com

For longtime readers of The Silent Ballet like myself, the website's year-end list is a special treat, and we anxiously await it like a six year-old who can't sleep on Christmas Eve. One phenomenon that has been constant over the years is TSB's ability to pluck musicians out of complete obscurity and place them into the list as if no one would notice. The act itself is not difficult - anyone could find an unknown musician and rave about him - but what is impressive is that these artists never fail to deserve the praise that they have suddenly been given. Why no mention of these types of acts ever appears on the website prior to the end of the year list still remains a mystery to me, but as a recent addition to the staff I hope to unravel it one day. Sebastian Plano was 2011's "surprise" pick. Plano is an Argentinean composer who composed, recorded, and produced The Arrythmical Part of Hearts last year, which proves to be one of the strongest contemporary classical albums of the year. Hearts draws from a wide pool of influences; Plano is obviously influenced by much of classical's main body of work, but we also find similarities to some electronica producers, as well as certain contemporary movie score composers, such as Yann Tiersen. Cello is the main tool utilized on Hearts, but that is not to say that it in singular in its musical voice; rather, Plano achieves a rich network of sounds that dazzle as they weave in an out of one another - old and new, everything is as fresh and smooth as the first time it was played. Hearts is steeped in a deep passion that makes it irresistible - as Plano was previously a completely unknown artist, we can imagine that he was able to create this album without the slightest amount of pressure or fear of scrutiny. As a result, the album is branded with an attractive freedom and confidence that few established artists can afford. Plano's career is bright and wide open ahead of him. Here's hoping that he can relive the magic of Hearts on future works. 
Yakob Olesky - Yakob Olesky - thesilentballet.com

For longtime readers of The Silent Ballet like myself, the website's year-end list is a special treat, and we anxiously await it like a six year-old who can't sleep on Christmas Eve. One phenomenon that has been constant over the years is TSB's ability to pluck musicians out of complete obscurity and place them into the list as if no one would notice. The act itself is not difficult - anyone could find an unknown musician and rave about him - but what is impressive is that these artists never fail to deserve the praise that they have suddenly been given. Why no mention of these types of acts ever appears on the website prior to the end of the year list still remains a mystery to me, but as a recent addition to the staff I hope to unravel it one day. Sebastian Plano was 2011's "surprise" pick. Plano is an Argentinean composer who composed, recorded, and produced The Arrythmical Part of Hearts last year, which proves to be one of the strongest contemporary classical albums of the year. Hearts draws from a wide pool of influences; Plano is obviously influenced by much of classical's main body of work, but we also find similarities to some electronica producers, as well as certain contemporary movie score composers, such as Yann Tiersen. Cello is the main tool utilized on Hearts, but that is not to say that it in singular in its musical voice; rather, Plano achieves a rich network of sounds that dazzle as they weave in an out of one another - old and new, everything is as fresh and smooth as the first time it was played. Hearts is steeped in a deep passion that makes it irresistible - as Plano was previously a completely unknown artist, we can imagine that he was able to create this album without the slightest amount of pressure or fear of scrutiny. As a result, the album is branded with an attractive freedom and confidence that few established artists can afford. Plano's career is bright and wide open ahead of him. Here's hoping that he can relive the magic of Hearts on future works. 
Yakob Olesky - Yakob Olesky - thesilentballet.com

I’ve been listening to The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts for the last two weeks over a dozens of times already and the best part is every time I hear this title, the sound within kept unfolding secret chambers and new avenues. Regardless of the number of listens I gave this album I swear I keep hearing something I didn’t hear on my previous listen. The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts is one hell of an amazing title. Too bad we haven’t got a download yet but by all means do yourself a favour and stream the entire album.

Mog - Mog - thesirenssound.com

I’ve been listening to The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts for the last two weeks over a dozens of times already and the best part is every time I hear this title, the sound within kept unfolding secret chambers and new avenues. Regardless of the number of listens I gave this album I swear I keep hearing something I didn’t hear on my previous listen. The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts is one hell of an amazing title. Too bad we haven’t got a download yet but by all means do yourself a favour and stream the entire album.

Mog - Mog - thesirenssound.com

Have you ever been moved by the yearning blends of classical motifs with electronic atmospheres composed by the likes of Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm, and Peter Broderick? Does the thought of what their aesthetic might sound like if relocated to warmer climes and infused with the passion and counterpoint of the tango sound intriguing? If so, then you need to listen to Sebastian Plano's debut album.
The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts was released last year with little fanfare, but is an album that should not be allowed to slip quietly by. Across seven short tracks Plano, a young San Francisco-based composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays everything on the album himself, weaves together an array of sounds including cello, keyboards, bandoneón, wordless vocals, and electronic effects and percussion into a compelling and emotive suite of compositions charged with tantalizing twists and turns.
Although the music is instrumental, there is a strong sense of storytelling, both within each track and across the album as a whole. Sounds and instruments are added and dropped, tempos are raised and lowered, sudden subtle changes of mood generate forward motion, leading us into new episodes and interludes. The tone is by turn insistently yearning, wistfully pretty, gently melancholy, and urgently rhythmic. The sequence of ‘In Between Worlds’ and ‘Emotions (Part III)’ is a good example. The yearning cello of the all-too-brief (but crushingly gorgeous) ‘In Between Worlds’ begins in a meditative vein that becomes more urgent and dramatic as the track nears its end. The track finishes on a provisional, questioning note, without full resolution, leaning us forwards into ‘Emotions (Part III)’. The transition catapults us from yearning strings into a passage of faintly exotic percussion, which in turn opens into a restrained and plaintive electronic keyboard motif before drawing us back into the cello’s ardently ascending voice. At each stage we are drawn onward, ears open for what comes next, needing more to complete the tale. The album is full of such miniature dramas, filled with life and beauty. It will reward the time you spend with it.

David Smith - David Smith - musicisgood.org

Have you ever been moved by the yearning blends of classical motifs with electronic atmospheres composed by the likes of Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm, and Peter Broderick? Does the thought of what their aesthetic might sound like if relocated to warmer climes and infused with the passion and counterpoint of the tango sound intriguing? If so, then you need to listen to Sebastian Plano's debut album.
The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts was released last year with little fanfare, but is an album that should not be allowed to slip quietly by. Across seven short tracks Plano, a young San Francisco-based composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays everything on the album himself, weaves together an array of sounds including cello, keyboards, bandoneón, wordless vocals, and electronic effects and percussion into a compelling and emotive suite of compositions charged with tantalizing twists and turns.
Although the music is instrumental, there is a strong sense of storytelling, both within each track and across the album as a whole. Sounds and instruments are added and dropped, tempos are raised and lowered, sudden subtle changes of mood generate forward motion, leading us into new episodes and interludes. The tone is by turn insistently yearning, wistfully pretty, gently melancholy, and urgently rhythmic. The sequence of ‘In Between Worlds’ and ‘Emotions (Part III)’ is a good example. The yearning cello of the all-too-brief (but crushingly gorgeous) ‘In Between Worlds’ begins in a meditative vein that becomes more urgent and dramatic as the track nears its end. The track finishes on a provisional, questioning note, without full resolution, leaning us forwards into ‘Emotions (Part III)’. The transition catapults us from yearning strings into a passage of faintly exotic percussion, which in turn opens into a restrained and plaintive electronic keyboard motif before drawing us back into the cello’s ardently ascending voice. At each stage we are drawn onward, ears open for what comes next, needing more to complete the tale. The album is full of such miniature dramas, filled with life and beauty. It will reward the time you spend with it.

David Smith - David Smith - musicisgood.org

There are classical artists who still live in a musical world that existed 80 or 200 hundred years ago.  Then there are classical musicians who embrace the modern world we live in today. That’s whatSebastian Plano does.  Primarily a cellist and pianist, he’s the child of a musical family of string players in Argentina.  But he’s also the child of modern electronic music in all its forms.  He got his first Vangelis album when he was eight years old.  Now living in San Francisco, he brings those elements together on The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts.
With his opening track, “Homage To A Soul,” Sebastian Plano wears his influences on his sleeve, dedicating the piece to Estonian composer,Arvo Pärt.  Fortunately, he lives up to that aspiration, starting with Pärt’s Tintinnabuli-style of slow-motion counterpoint and melody adding an excruciatingly beautiful cello solo that sounds like the heartache of the world.
While other ambient chamber music composers submerge their melodies in deep baths of texture, Plano doesn’t bury the lead, but exults in his lyric inventions.   In that regard, he’s closer to Ludovico Einaudi than Ólafur Arnalds.  Plano’s music is a subtle mix of acoustic and electronic.  He flows between a gamelan orchestra on speed, soaring string ensembles and electronic effects that merge seamlessly with his melodic motifs.
Plano has listened to a lot of minimalism and a lot of modern electronic music and those influences often come together in dazzling ways.  “Running with Caffeine” is an adrenaline-charged work with a funky piano opening that rips into a distorted electronica groove. Over chiming vibes and bells, Plano’s cello arcs against an increasingly turbulent, but always melodic background of hocketing synthesizers and percussion.
Compositions such as “Living” and “Emotions (Part III)” are multi-part works that move like interlocked spirals.  Just when you think they couldn’t get any more beautiful, they do, sometimes employing voices intoning a space hymn, often using  Plano’s cello, and occasionally adding a bandoneón, an instrument that brings it all back home to Argentina.
Plano veers off into experimentation on the last two tracks, growing angular and clashing, albeit in a gentle way.  “Postlude” is hampered by his only clichéd use of reverse effects. But it’s this adventurous spirit that enlivens his other compositions.
The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts was actually released in early 2011, but to scant attention.  And that’s wrong.   Plano is currently running aKickstarter campaign to generate money for his next CD.  I can’t think of a better calling card than The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts. Clocking in at only 32 minutes, the album is short, but that’s a good thing.  It gives you time to spin it all over again, and again.

John Diliberto
- John Diliberto - Echoes.org

There are classical artists who still live in a musical world that existed 80 or 200 hundred years ago.  Then there are classical musicians who embrace the modern world we live in today. That’s whatSebastian Plano does.  Primarily a cellist and pianist, he’s the child of a musical family of string players in Argentina.  But he’s also the child of modern electronic music in all its forms.  He got his first Vangelis album when he was eight years old.  Now living in San Francisco, he brings those elements together on The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts.
With his opening track, “Homage To A Soul,” Sebastian Plano wears his influences on his sleeve, dedicating the piece to Estonian composer,Arvo Pärt.  Fortunately, he lives up to that aspiration, starting with Pärt’s Tintinnabuli-style of slow-motion counterpoint and melody adding an excruciatingly beautiful cello solo that sounds like the heartache of the world.
While other ambient chamber music composers submerge their melodies in deep baths of texture, Plano doesn’t bury the lead, but exults in his lyric inventions.   In that regard, he’s closer to Ludovico Einaudi than Ólafur Arnalds.  Plano’s music is a subtle mix of acoustic and electronic.  He flows between a gamelan orchestra on speed, soaring string ensembles and electronic effects that merge seamlessly with his melodic motifs.
Plano has listened to a lot of minimalism and a lot of modern electronic music and those influences often come together in dazzling ways.  “Running with Caffeine” is an adrenaline-charged work with a funky piano opening that rips into a distorted electronica groove. Over chiming vibes and bells, Plano’s cello arcs against an increasingly turbulent, but always melodic background of hocketing synthesizers and percussion.
Compositions such as “Living” and “Emotions (Part III)” are multi-part works that move like interlocked spirals.  Just when you think they couldn’t get any more beautiful, they do, sometimes employing voices intoning a space hymn, often using  Plano’s cello, and occasionally adding a bandoneón, an instrument that brings it all back home to Argentina.
Plano veers off into experimentation on the last two tracks, growing angular and clashing, albeit in a gentle way.  “Postlude” is hampered by his only clichéd use of reverse effects. But it’s this adventurous spirit that enlivens his other compositions.
The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts was actually released in early 2011, but to scant attention.  And that’s wrong.   Plano is currently running aKickstarter campaign to generate money for his next CD.  I can’t think of a better calling card than The Arrhythmical Part of Hearts. Clocking in at only 32 minutes, the album is short, but that’s a good thing.  It gives you time to spin it all over again, and again.

John Diliberto
- John Diliberto - Echoes.org