There’s a kind of stillness you don’t get often in collaborative work—especially not between two composers, on two continents, in two time zones, with one piano each. That’s the setup behind Mirror, a new release from Hilgrove Kenrick and Sam Watts, written and recorded in a single day for Piano Day 2025. And despite the miles between them, the piece lands like the two artists were sitting shoulder to shoulder.
The idea is deceptively simple: two pianos in dialogue, one reflecting the other. But what unfolds is more than a gimmick. The track has the intimacy of a shared breath, a conversation spoken through phrasing and silence rather than volume or speed. It’s quiet without fading into the background—anchored by clarity, not drama.
Kenrick and Watts both have deep roots in film and television. Kenrick’s credits stretch from 12 Monkeys to Suicide Club, while Watts has written for Planet Earth, The Traitors, and The Sarah Jane Adventures. You can hear that cinematic instinct here. Mirror could easily live in a film that isn’t trying to fill space, but rather make you feel like time is slowing down. It’s not background music—it’s presence music.
The track also includes a vocal layer, almost ghostlike, gently weaving between the two pianos. Nothing is overstated. The production stays clean and real, without digital gloss. It’s a piece that makes a strong case for restraint in a world full of excess.
Call it modern classical, call it meditative—it doesn’t matter. What matters is the effect. If you need to pause the noise for four minutes, Mirror will meet you there.
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