Slowrush, making stiltwalking great again on the new EP, Pianoforte!

My band Slowrush, whose song themes emanate from articles originally written for the Invisible Bordeaux blog, has just put out a new EP, Pianoforte, and the lead track is inspired by the incredible journey of Sylvain Dornon, who, at the end of the 19th century, walked from Paris to Moscow… on stilts!

The EP, which we've released with my bandmates Dorian and Olivier, is titled Pianoforte, a nod to the old-school piano that energetically drives each track in a timeless fashion reminiscent of artists like Ben Folds Five, Joe Jackson, Billy Joel in his prime (y'know, pre-Uptown Girl), as well as Air and Youth Lagoon.

And it is indeed the surprising tale of Sylvain Dornon that the band shares in the song “Stiltwalking to Moscow” Loyal readers will be familiar with the story: in 1891, this baker from Arcachon set himself the challenge of walking from Paris to Moscow with the sole aim of showcasing and preserving the Landais tradition of walking on stilts! He accomplished his endeavour in just 58 days, but the return to his daily routine as a baker was a shock to the system, and Dornon died young.

A video featuring unrelated archive clips illustrates the song's lyrics in a literal way, hopefully with just a touch of gentle humour, and almost makes you want to put on a pair of stilts yourself.

As for the other tracks on the EP, “Hey, Mr. Bertolucci” shares the unusual experience of witnessing a Parisian avenue being transformed for a film shoot set in May 1968 - a story that was previously shared over on the Invisible Paris website. 

“Salt of the Earth” is an instrumental piece built around a cassette recording of a sermon by evangelical pastor Robert Fairnie (who happened to be my grandfather!), dating from the 1980s and kept on tape by a member of a church in Fraserburgh, in northern Scotland. Finally, “Half a World Away II” draws inspiration from Dorian’s extended stay in Chile, the musical project he built from scratch in the Southern Hemisphere, and the friendships he formed there. 

The EP is available on all streaming platforms, or via the Spotify player below. We hope you enjoy the tracks, and long live stilts! 

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