In a cultural moment saturated with anxiety and noise, Los Angeles-based pianist and composer Peter Manning Robinson offers a different kind of statement with his new single, “Bent Out of Shape”. Landing with the warmth of sunlight breaking through an overcast sky, the track serves as a lively, playful beacon of hard-won lightness.
Listen to “Bent Out of Shape” here
A Bright Counterweight to Shadow
An Emmy and multi-BMI Award–winning composer whose career spans film, television, and live performance, Robinson returns to his solo acoustic piano roots for his forthcoming neo-classical album, Excursions.
- The Emotional Pivot: As the second single from Excursions, “Bent Out of Shape” acts as an emotional counterweight to the project’s more melancholic themes. Where grief and heartbreak cast long shadows across the rest of the album, this track steps deliberately into the light.
- The Sonic Landscape: Built on whimsical, dancing notes that feel spontaneous yet purposeful, the song beautifully blends Robinson’s classical foundation with a distinct jazz sensibility. The melody skips and bends with a sense of humor and release, functioning as the musical equivalent of a long-awaited exhale.
- The Core Intention: Robinson has been candid about the track’s origins, noting it was written in response to months of personal struggle and the heavy weight of world events. Born from a conscious need for uplift, the track delivers a lightness that feels earned rather than forced.
Surreal, Sun-Drenched Visual Storytelling
The single is accompanied by a striking music video directed by longtime collaborator Klaus Hoch, who co-founded Owl Walk Records with Robinson in 2021. Set in a picturesque mansion perched high above the sea, the video unfolds as a surreal tour through a shared history between two people reconciling after a conflict.
Hoch’s dreamy, sun-drenched visuals mirror the track’s emotional register beautifully. By layering quiet visual details that reward repeat viewings, the video makes a compelling case for the narrative power of instrumental music, evoking immediate, specific emotions entirely beyond the need for spoken language. Within the context of Excursions, it proves that the album’s grand arc from despair toward renewal is something Robinson has truly lived and played.
“Instrumental music can evoke images and emotions beyond language, and ‘Bent Out of Shape’ is persuasive evidence of exactly that.”
https://www.petermanningrobinson.com
