Guitarist and singer-songwriter Piet Dalmolen proudly unveils his long-awaited debut solo album.

Release Date: 17th January 2025

Label: Independent

Format: CD / LP / digital

Discovering inspiration on Maui and finding a barn situated on a prairie overlooking the Pacific Ocean proved to be ideal settings to fulfill Piet Dalmolen’s dream of composing songs offering personal reflections .

Time Stand Still is very much a soul searching album revealing personal heartfelt observations. There are plenty of chances to wallow in his mellow melodies which reach back to the soothing warm sounds of some classic 70’s rock. Succulent guitar drips easily on the ears with keyboards trickling in to the spaces but he can up the ante too providing the opportunity to try some swirling moves.

With handpicked members Matt Engel on keyboards, Tommy Fitzmaurice on drums, and Ian Taylor on bass, Piet abandoned his abandoned his touring nationally with Nucleus, and numerous Northern California bands.

“I love my band for their talent, aesthetic, and easy-going personalities,” says Piet. “The older I get the more I appreciate having the right people that I can rely on and have fun with, and thankfully they believe in my musical vision.” Its not hard to conclude that having the ideal collaborators and setting have combined to create a quality piece of work.

Piet I suppose has never heard of the Canterbury prog scene but he has synced right into a Caravan vibe on Dropping. Catchy guitar riffs, juicy keyboards, melodic flue and soft jazzy guitar solo and crafty tempo changes. it’s all there. Being sums up his philosophy of musical thinking and his personal discoveries The latter half of Being is just delicious, tranquil and succulent. “The pretty guitar coda is something that just came out of me the morning of the fires,” says Piet, “before we had any idea what was to come. And the wave sounds are my own field recording from the trip.”

This mood continues into Falling Together and the instrumental Lahaina which is the best of the previous 2 tracks rolled into one fabulous relaxing piece. The final track begins a little chilled out in Hank Marvin style before we revisit Canterbury, the initial gentility then becoming rockier. This racy ending leaves you ready to press the repeat button.

Whist taking responsibility for production, mixing and mastering of the recording one feels that during the creation of this album Piet is maturing both musically and personally. Even though it’s so early in the year this is already a candidate for a personal album of the year.

Here’s Cosmic Joke:

Piet Dalmolen online: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Youtube

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