Mathieu Karsenti Delivers A Beautiful Piece of Work
- R.A.G.
- 13 minutes ago
- 9 min read
A breathtaking new piece of work from Mathieu Karsenti comes through with a beautiful flow and emotional set of performances that display these gorgeous moods, and as the track unfolds, those moves change ever so slightly.
Is a robust piece of work that feels incredibly cinematic and is completely orchestral, focusing mainly on violin. It is something that you listen to with headphones on, eyes closed, and an open mind.
The reason is that tracks like this can spark memories or emotions of your own to come to the surface, and this is part of the beauty of pieces like this one.
The song portrays such an individual character, displayed with elements of vulnerability and deep thought.
When you listen to the song, you're taking on a bit of a journey. Each listener will interpret this slightly differently, but you can hear the elegance in its aesthetic.
The strings harmonize, swell, and sway.
This is a contemporary classical piece of music, and it feels alive and breathing.
The texture of the violins layered on top of each other feels almost overwhelming at times. Some will take in elements of sun or sadness, as the notes can be more minor than major most of the time, but others may take that in as something a little bit more existential than just sadness.
When I listen to the song, I have a lot of memories that run through my mind. Most of them are wonderful, so it's funny that you hear a song with this kind of minor tonality in terms of its notes, but you can also pick up on the depth and the beauty of it all at the same time.
It's almost like a state of acceptance or peace.
You can feel rises and falls of intensity as the song unfolds, and again, every person that listens to the song will soak it in in a different manner.
I love how certain notes are held out while others play melodies on top of them, while other times the melodies are played together in harmony, and throughout it all, you have those cons hooks. There is a lot of confluence and consistency throughout this single and plenty of attention paid to its arrangement.
It's pretty easy to say that this is a filmic or cinematic style track because the emotion it holds and the fact that it is an instrumental violin piece makes it super fitting for an emotional segment in a film.
This is something I hold on to tightly, mainly because I grew up on film and love watching movies. When I hear a piece like this one, it opens up so much for the imagination, and whatever path you take while you listen to the song, he will be impacted by it.
This is a piece of music that creates something within you. Whether or not it's more existential or simplistic, it will move you; you will feel something from it.
I'm a big fan of any kind of music you can feel from.
This piece is called "When The Hummingbird Stops", and you can hear this piece as well as several other variations of it on Mathieu's Spotify page or his website.
Of course, I will be listing all the links below so you can go listen right away.
If you are a fan of classical music, orchestral tones, and symphonic melody, then this is a composer you want to follow.
He has released plenty of music since his start, and there is so much to take in.
"Mirages" also includes several variations and is another gorgeous piece of work that pulls you in with that emotional backbone and passionate performance from Helena Maria Falk, who also plays on "When The Hummingbird Stops".
There's also an album called Strings Reworks, which spans 10 tracks and is absolutely astounding to listen to from start to finish.
Again, this is for people who enjoy cinematic, orchestral, and classical music. These are the kind of pieces Mathieu is known for creating, with depth, as the artist has already had music featured on International platforms from Netflix to Bravo, among many others.
When you listen to his music, it's obvious why it's been picked up so often.
Going through his evolution as a composer is very enjoyable
An album dubbed Piano Paintings comes through with these theatrical, robust pieces, featuring alluring, beautiful performances throughout.
This is a composer with some depth, who has his Staples and influences, but isn't afraid to branch out and try different things, as long as the pieces have movement.
So, once I listened to not just singles but many of his pieces, I had to ask a few questions as to where music like this actually comes from.
So, while you listen to this piece, hopefully among others, have a read through of our interview with Mathieu Karsenti below.
Where did the release come from and what inspired you to write it?
Whilst living in L.A between 2022 and 2025, I did a lot of self-reflecting and reflecting on the world around me, how everything seems to go faster and faster and that we don’t take enough time to stop and ponder anymore; time to appreciate where we are, nature, sunsets, life, special moments with loved ones etc… And the hummingbird image popped into my head. This beautiful tiny bird, a species endemic to California, is very special and it never seems to stop still for very long either. A friend’s house in Silver Lake had a bird feeder and on balmy evenings you can spot those small creatures stop briefly to drink the sugary nectar - such a beautiful sight that it made me wonder what happens when the hummingbird stops…
As I was contemplating the end of my time in L.A, I felt a change of pace of life and priorities was afoot with my impending return to my home country, in South of France. I needed to reconnect to what felt real and more important to me: family, my health, my way of living as an artist. My career and my personal life were changing and it felt right to leave behind what didn’t work for me anymore. The hummingbird analogy made me more aware of life’s fleeting moments and how precious and miraculous it really is.
What kind of musical influences do you have? Who are some of your biggest?
I have many! I grew up playing the Beatles on the guitar whilst hearing middle-eastern music and Soul at home. My parents weren’t musicians but there was definitely an interest in listening to music regularly. Later on I discovered Debussy, Satie, Ravel which were part of the French collective subconscious. I also went through a long phase of listening to the Soul greats such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Otis Reading and many others. Jazz with Miles Davis and Sarah Vaughan. With film music, I love Alexandre Desplat’s elegant approach but I also love Clint Mansell and Cliff Martinez’s experimental sounds. And of course Ennio Morricone was always present!
Do you find that film and cinema is a bit inspiration for you as well?
Yes but more when it is approached as art form rather than a product. It is both of course but when the results are more arthouse let’s say, it satisfies me more. When I work on a film, I get inspired by the script, the actors, the colours, the ‘aura’ of a film, the message, the edit. It is always a pleasure to score a film when I’m consulted as an artist with a complementary vision rather than just someone who can do the job.
You composed the piece but who performed it?
During my time in L.A, I attended the premiere at a theatre of a short film that I scored. After the screening, I met Helena Maria Falk, a concert violinist and a friend of the director. We hit it off - I was also in the process of learning violin and I ended up composing some violin ideas with her in mind. I settled on the idea of a violin trio so that I could include more colours, counterpoint melodies and more scope in the pieces. The first project we did together was ‘Mirages’ and after its success, I decided to compose ‘When The Hummingbird Stops’. Helena’s interpretation is exceptional. She is also a composer and an artist so she understood right away what I was doing. Her spirit is present in these tracks as well as her skill and talent as a musician, it was truly an honour to record her.
I noticed you released a variation 2 of the song! How do they differ and what made you do that one?
As with ‘Mirages’, I liked the idea of offering a couple of variations on the main theme. In my previous project, the album ‘Strings Reworks’, I used old violin and cello parts from my past projects. I recomposed new pieces using a form of collage. I had great fun doing it and it opened up my way of composing! So with ‘Mirages’ and ‘Hummingbird’, I approached the variations in a similar way, exploring further what I could do with my compositions, adding extra elements, flipping the melodies upside down. The results are still in keeping with the original pieces but they offer more conversation, another way of hearing those tracks.
When and how did this all start for you as a composer and writer?
When I was a student at university in London, a friend lent me a cassette tape 4 track machine. I had no idea what I was doing musically other than playing guitar and the machine allowed me to hear myself back and construct ideas by recording and bouncing three tracks onto one. I was a Beatles fan at the time and I thought it was super cool that they did that on their Sgt Pepper’s album and that it was possible for me to also do that! My ideas were very primitive but it was a form of composing. Later on I got into music production as a way to make a living in London and also continuing to write songs on the side. Being a massive fan of Soul music, I decided I’d like to record and produce Soul artists in the UK. I met some fantastic singers and eventually I saw the possibility of getting into TV, again as a way to make a better decent living in that expensive city. When working on TV shows for BBC and other UK networks, I was asked to compose a few things here and there. Then I worked on a couple of very creative Children’s shows where I was allowed to compose music over two seasons. This opened up the idea that I was perhaps a composer. To me, I hadn’t thought of it because being a composer meant making Classical music and being classically trained - which I wasn’t. I enrolled on an online course at Berklee for film and TV scoring and finally taught myself to read and write music. As things progressed, I also got into scoring short and feature films, applying my knowledge to real life projects. Then around 2017, I saw a shift in the TV industry with shows using more and more library music rather than one composer to score it all. I delved into that too and on the side I started releasing my own material as singles, E.Ps and later on albums. These are opportunities to work with musicians and to explore my voice further as an artist and a composer away from a brief, with total freedom and no concessions.
What studio did you work with to record?
With ‘Mirages’, I recorded Helena at home in Los Angeles, but with ‘Hummingbird’, she recorded it by herself because I was already back in France at that point. Helena is used to delivering her recordings to other composers as a session musician so they sounded great. Ideally, we would record these trios live with two other violinists and not to a click track but we didn’t have that luxury!
Did the release come out how you expected?
Yes it all worked out really well. I knew I could trust Helena to record by herself without any guidance from me. It’s all written on the score but of course she added her magic touch. I actually love the tone of her violin and her attention to detail is amazing. Her approach for both ‘Mirages’ and ‘Hummingbird’ was very careful and not overly dramatic which is what I needed. Needless to say I can’t wait to record again with her soon!
Now that this is out, what's next for you?
I always have a few projects on the go. In my archive, I put the finishing touches to my 50th solo piano composition (one for each year I’ve been around). I also have a solo cello project in the works and two other albums I am currently working on that will have accompanying artwork painted by me. And there’s a third violin trio ready to go. Plenty to keep me busy!
What would you say people can expect from this song and variation 2?
I approach this piece and its variations as meditations, a pause for thought. I hope listeners will feel that and take the time to reflect for themselves with my music as accompaniment.
Before we go, what would you like to express to listeners or fans of the music?
Firstly, I want to say that I am always so grateful that people buy or simply stream my music.
In this age of over-saturation, it can be hard for independent artists to reach their audience, especially when what you do is non-conventional and at times a little abstract. I always maintained that my music isn’t there to display my virtuosity as a composer, that I am simply here to propose imaginary landscapes, musical paintings that are open-minded enough to welcome different interpretations from the listener. It is not difficult music but the point is to engage your imagination and to let you find what you want in it. If you do find it interesting or moving, then my job is complete!
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