Solo
Project
In terms of Sophie's ongoing solo projects and its further investigation, her practice is based on improvisation and composition by enhancing her skills on the electric keyboard, toy piano and synchronising work with loop pedals. Within semi-instructed arrangements, she enjoys exploring kit sequences to express holding, meditative and live jam motions as a continuous experimental phase of her solo projects. Sophie is currently finalising her masters research entitled ‘Narrative Driven Practice: the Process of Arranging and Composing Music through Piano Improvisations', which advantages the way of what she's been producing. For this particular research, she takes 1 minute improvisations using a variety of feelings or stylistic languages as the basis for the composition.
Originals on the Album 'Best of ABC Jazz 24'
Solo Piano Tracks: This recording is used with permission - it was made by ABC Jazz for the Artist in Residence series, 2024
These tracks are a selection of jazz standards and improvised solo pieces.
Best of ABC Jazz '24 This album has become an annual release for ABC Jazz, showcasing the brilliant jazz musicians the station has been working with, both as composers and as performers. The collection featrues solo turns from pianists Sophie Min and Harry Mitchell and sax player Andrew Robson - recorded as part of ABC Jazz's Artist in Residence program.
Release date: 1 November 2024
Solo Album
Solo Vol. 1
2020
‘Solo Vol. 1’ is Sophie's first solo album, straight one-off live recording at the
Brisbane Multicultural Art Centre in 2018, which was managed and supported by Lynette Irwin, who is a founder and director of the Brisbane International Jazz Festival. The session has recorded and sponsored by Kawai Australia and it was a phenomenal honour of sharing the piano with jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan during the 2018 BIJF to Sophie. Only available to purchase on Bandcamp.
This recording features cascades of free improvisation and pure movement at the piano. She expects the listeners to enjoy being transported to another realm as she takes you on an impromptu journey exploring new ideas and concepts of contemporary composition, new music and extended improvisational techniques.
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"Her compositions strike a balance between considered chordal meditations and virtuosic complexity in the lane of Andrew Hill. The tape's ten tracks run a tidy half hour, coalescing into an affecting suite of self-expression." - Reviews from NoGuitaristAllowed
Live Audios
These tracks presents myself alongside Jasmin Wing-Yin Leung, is a new post-jazz duo who explores the unusual combination of keyboard and Chinese Instrument Erhu. The music explores extended harmonies, textures and sensitive sonic structures, as well as the possibilities of dialogue, intervention and play between the two contrasting instruments.
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Practice Video
Practice Focus: Building Hand Independene
In this video, I provide a brief analysis of my piano playing, focusing on hand independence alongside a left-hand ostinato. The improvised solo lines explore various modes to create rich harmonic textures for the tune. Polyrhythmic phrases and specific chord patterns are featured, with the goal of achieving a smooth flow of 8th-note runs. In this video, I included a quick brief explanation on what I wanted to achieve or what I intended to practice, by phrase.
Videos -
Toy Piano
Recipes
Toy Piano Recipes
2023
'Toy Piano's Recipes' provide a series of improvised playing on the toy piano. This project explores improvisational practice drawn from minimalism, contemporary music and experimental jazz. Each tracks of this series are only 1 minute and expect to show multiple combinations of strategies in harmonic and rhythmic concepts.