Aftermaths assembles a series of solo piano meditations from Mark R Taylor, each miniature realized with extraordinary nuance by pianist Teodora Stepančić. Taylor’s writing gathers its force not from spectacle, but from distilled detail, calibrated pacing, and a disciplined embrace of small form. The works—ranging from twelve-second “flashes” to pieces that stretch over nine minutes - invite a listening experience grounded in patience, repetition, and subtle surprise. Taylor leverages the piano’s capacity for both resonance and decay, crafting episodes where each chord or interval seems to echo with the memory of what came before.

Stepančić’s attentive touch underlines the music’s inherent quietude, drawing out luminous overtones or letting silences linger just long enough to become meaningful in themselves. Taylor’s fragments appear as incomplete statements or poetic gestures, sometimes resisting closure or conclusion. The sequencing of the album resists building to a singular climax; instead, it accumulates a sense of aftermath - lingering mood, unresolved questions, and delicate emotional shifts. Each piece is distinct, yet together they form a suite defined by introspection, restraint, and the subtle drama of vanishing sound. Taylor’s piano writing - while referencing traditions from Erik Satie to Erik - remains idiosyncratic in attitude and sonority. Stepančić’s performance foregrounds the sensitive interplay between phrasing, timbre, and breath, achieving a rare transparency where music and silence cohabit in continual negotiation. Aftermaths stands as a quietly radical contribution to the solo piano repertoire: a collection invested not in resolution, but in the generative power of what remains, the gentle unfurling of presence after each sound has faded.