It was pouring with rain in Scotland today. Driving home in the car from work, Myself, Mrs. 17 Seconds and Son 17 Seconds were listening to one of the many submissions I have received over the last wee while. It was something that really made us all listen, and captured the rain perfectly.

This time, it was not another confessional singer-songwriter, an angsty/angry shouty group or a bunch of hipsters. It was the debut album by one Carlos Cipa, entitled The Monarch And The Viceroy (****1/2).

Carlos Cipa is a classically trained musician and composer, currently residing in Munich (Germany) where he is currently studying composition. Reportedly, at the age of 6 he began taking classical piano lessons with various renowned teachers.

He signed to the German experimental music label Denovali Records in early 2012. He lists Satie and Debussy amongst his influences – and I think I can hear some Michael Nyman in there, too. If you think you don’t like classical music, that’s your loss. But if you enjoy David Sylvian and the latter Talk Talk albums (1988 onwards) maybe you can open your mind to this, too.

There’s no mp3s for downloading, but try these two videos for size…

…and you can stream these two tracks, too.