Alasdair James Dodds has a rare knack for making silence feel alive, and โDisillusionmentโ is a powerful reminder of just how much emotional weight a single piano can carry. Released on October 11, 2025, this instrumental piece feels like the distilled essence of Doddsโ long, winding creative journeyโone shaped by years of private composition, cinematic storytelling, and an unflinching look at how we come to see the world more clearly, even when that clarity stings. Influenced by the emotive elegance of Alexis Ffrench and the cinematic gravity of Hans Zimmer, Dodds leans into restraint here, letting nuance, space, and resonance do the heavy lifting.
โDisillusionmentโ opens slowly, the piano moving with careful steps, as if testing the ground before committing. The notes begin to glide, then gently dance upward, gaining momentum until they churn into circular patterns that build a winding tension. Nothing feels rushed, because every pause, every shift in timing feels intentional, shaped over more than a year of fine-tuning touch, velocity, and spacing. Just when the tension threatens to tip over, the piece softens and reshapes itself. Lighter notes trickle in, teetering delicately, offering humane uncertainty.
Midway through, an opening emerges like a breath held too long finally released. This is the heart of the piece, inviting introspection and rethinking, where gentle, gleaming notes patter softly while a single line pursues forward like a rippling ribbon caught in the wind. Itโs reflective without being sentimental, sad without collapsing under its own weight. As the final moments arrive, the piano slows again, returning to simplicity, leaving behind a sense of balance.
The accompanying video adds another layer, visually separating left and right hands in cool blues and warm oranges, mirroring the emotional dialogue within the music while subtly inviting pianists to step inside the score themselves. โDisillusionmentโ sits with it, examines it, and transforms it into something honest, elegant, and unexpectedly beautiful.
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Review by: Naomi Joan