S. Salter’s ‘Ara’ EP Distills Piano and Electronics into Three Unhurried Movements

Eight minutes across three tracks: S. Salter’s Ara EP doesn’t need more. The release, on Plusha, refines the duo’s approach—piano placed at the center, with electronics serving as texture rather than architecture. Samuel Ruddick (Amsterdam) and Jeremia Reichen (Berlin) have been building this delicate language since their debut album Juun three years ago, and Ara feels like a quiet, confident step further in.

“Parts of Town” opens with a repeating phrase that swells into orchestral territory—snare rolls, horns, the distant sound of children playing. It’s a contained cinematic arc, rising to a restrained climax before evaporating. The title track then drifts in as a fragmented interlude, suspended and brief, leading into the expansive closing piece “Sunday in Bloom.” Here, piano sparkles over long decays, unhurried and reflective, with production touches that fill the space without crowding it.

Since Juun, S. Salter has put out a live EP from Amsterdam’s Nxt Museum, contributed to Nils Frahm/Leiter Verlag’s Piano Day compilation, and pursued separate paths: Reichen reworked their track “Grove,” while Ruddick composed the solo piano elegy “Robins.” Ara consolidates that scattered activity without overstating its case. It’s available on Bandcamp and Apple Music.