The extensive influences, unyielding creative drive, and vast array of contributors behind Piano Magic—the project steered by Glen Johnson—mean that dipping into their discography, spanning ultra-rare singles from Spanish indie labels to complete film scores, seldom yields identical experiences. Johnson launched the outfit in the mid-'90s alongside Dominic Chennell and Dick Rance, modeling it after 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell's This Mortal Coil by centering recordings on a tight core while inviting outside participants. The resulting output has encompassed arty baroque pop, childlike electronic knob-twiddling, and every shade between those poles. Beyond Johnson's consistent involvement, the sole unifying thread across Piano Magic's releases remains an atmosphere of wistfulness; he has described his aim to soundtrack memories, a goal that has carved out their distinctive niche.
Early on, Piano Magic hoped to sidestep live performances altogether. Yet after Melody Maker named their debut single, 1996's Wrong French, Single of the Week, the original trio felt compelled to tour in its support. Joined by Paul Tornbohm, they delivered their first concert without performing any recorded material and made no effort to replicate their studio sound, leaving some attendees likely bewildered upon hearing the official versions later.
After signing with Che, the label behind Wrong French, the band issued two further singles—one via Wurlitzer Jukebox—before unveiling their debut album, Popular Mechanics, in November 1997. Drawing on additional contributors from those singles, including vocalists Raechel Leigh and Hazel Burfitt plus instrumentalist Martin Cooper, the record mixed previously released tracks with fresh material. Despite its unevenness, the album's enigmatic quality encourages repeated listens. Frustrated by Che's minimal promotional support, Piano Magic departed the imprint; unsurprisingly, ongoing financial instability soon shuttered the label.
Throughout 1999, a flurry of singles and EPs on imprints such as Staalplaat, Darla, and Bad Jazz—including a split release with Matmos for Lissy's—accompanied the arrival of the second album, Low Birth Weight, on Rocket Girl. The record's tighter focus and sustained quality have led many fans to regard it as the group's strongest work. In addition to most of the earlier participants, Caroline Potter, Alexander Perls, Matt Simpson, Jen Adam, Simon Rivers of Bitter Springs, David Sheppard of State River Widening, and Peter Astor of the Weather Prophets and the Wisdom of Harry contributed to its creation.
The following year proved Piano Magic's least active, though it still produced a remix EP for Germany's Morr Music and the conceptually driven full-length Artists' Rifles, which draws its themes from the First World War. This release stands as the band's most uniform in sonic approach, abandoning the electronics of earlier efforts in favor of intimate exchanges among drums, guitars, and Adrienne Quartly's cello. Prior to those sessions, Miguel Marin joined the lineup on what appeared to be a permanent basis.
In 2001, Piano Magic received a commission to compose the score for Spanish director Bigas Luna's Son de Mar after he encountered Low Birth Weight in a record shop and was moved to enlist them. The resulting peaceful, lulling, breezy, and entirely instrumental work highlights the group's remarkable versatility. Issued by 4AD, the score led to a formal agreement between the label and the band, prompting work on the proper successor to Low Birth Weight later that year. To satisfy listeners while vexing dedicated vinyl collectors, Rocket Girl issued Seasonally Affective, a comprehensive double-disc singles compilation. Writers Without Homes was finished and released in mid-2002. Piano Magic exited 4AD shortly thereafter, issuing The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic in 2003 on Spain's Green UFOs label and Disaffected in 2005 on Darla.
Apart from brief visits to Russia, Portugal, and Belgium, the band devoted most of the subsequent year to touring Italy. During this period they released the 12" Never It Will Be the Same Again, featuring contributions from conceptual artist Bojan Sarcevic. Piano Magic reconvened in the studio in late 2006, resulting in their ninth album, Part Monster, which appeared the following summer. Over the ensuing years they issued two additional albums before declaring their final record in 2017, aptly titled Closure.
