Spotlight Floodlight

Peter Adams is a pianist, keyboardist, composer and electronic musician originally from Lexington MA living in Los Angeles, California. As a keyboardist he has worked with innumerable artists, bands and producers. Including; Rickie Lee Jones, Josh Groban, Justin Currie (Del Amitri), Rob Dickinson (Catherine Wheel), Ottmar Liebert, Belinda Carlisle (The GoGos), Tears for Fears, Draco Rosa, Gaby Moreno, Tracy Bonham, Juliana Hatfield and many others.

Spotlight Floodlight is a moniker for his original and creative work. Having released several albums and eps since 2009, the most recent music has become increasingly minimal and experimental culminating in the two most recent releases; Aviary 2024 and Montebello 2022. Both utilize felt-treated piano, modular synthesizers, violin and cello.

updated February 7, 2024

Spotlight Floodlight - Aviary

Aviary considers the perception of borders, limitations and belief systems. Throughout the album there are arising distortions; distortions of rhythm, of tone and of melody. Things play together, but then.. they don’t.  It’s a quiet and contemplative work. As the pianist/improvisor John Tilbury has said of playing quietly “The softness transcends the instrument and draws the audience into the music - it encourages attentiveness and alertness. It demands a ‘transcendental’ listening in its search for the ‘revelatory experience’.” Throughout Aviary, electronic improvisations - either with modular synthesizers, Max MSP, or the Ciat-Lonbarde Plumbutter 2 - combine with pieces composed at the acoustic piano. Two completely different creative processes are merged together.  The former more like painting, and the later like crafting a narrative. The result is a sequence of pieces that affect the listener like dream images or fragments of subconscious narrative.

Spotlight Floodlight - Montebello

Montebello reflects the feelings and emotions of a city shut down during the 2020 global pandemic.