Ep. 293 - RIOPY

RIOPY is a French pianist and composer whose album Tree of Light reached No.1 on the US Billboard Classical Album chart and continued in the top 10 for 70 weeks. He features on Lana Del Rey’s latest album with a song she wrote over the track of one of RIOPY’s most popular compositions, Flo. RIOPY grew up in an oppressive religious cult, where contact with the outside world was forbidden and all music and television was banned. On a chance visit to a doctor, RIOPY found himself in a castle full of pianos, and discovered music as a way to soothe his anxieties and OCD. At the age of 18, RIOPY escaped the cult, and after a few short stints in Paris and LA (including short periods of homelessness), he found himself in the UK, in a music shop in Reading. A stranger heard him playing on one of the pianos, and helped him attain a scholarship at Oxford Brookes University. His career continued to grow, and in 2011 he was offered a high-profile performance opportunity for a Vanity Fair event. Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, was in attendance and bought RIOPY his first piano – a Steinway Grand. His latest album, THRIVE, is out now.

RIOPY is guest number 293 on My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he’d like to preserve and one he’d like to bury and never have to think about again .

For RIOPY’s music and tour dates visit www.riopymusic.com

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Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .

Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .

Music by Pass The Peas Music .

Artwork by matthewboxall.com .

This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people.

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