Btoum-Roumada

I've always been curious about how this track was made. I used to think it was a very well programmed sound, but now I get the impression it's a very distanced(heavy reverb) prepared piano that's being played on its own. I mostly noticed this while listening to a sample on a website where they describe this piano sample as "Prepared" piano, very Eno, with plenty of FX."

It makes sense since I think the main underneath tone(I don't know how to word this well) does sound like something a prepared piano can do, and the bell chiming sound is just the harmonics I think you call it of the piano just being more noticeable thanks to the preparation.

Anybody able to confirm? I've yet to find any other prepared pieces or examples of a prepared piano anywhere that accomplishes this same sound, and considering how it gives off the same sound on each note(chiming bells), I'm just assuming the preparation involved doing the same thing to each note, whereas most preparations seem to involve all sorts of different steps for each note.

are we assuming in this sample the piano operator is playing the piano normally? because to me it sounds like someone playing the strings of a piano with something other than it's normal hammers not a prepared piano in the traditional sense with stuff on the strings

it would be pretty hard to define the limits of the sounds a 'prepared piano' can make since you can prepare one and play it any way you want. laying forks and metallic objects on the strings can give buzzing sounds like btoum (as an example, I have no idea how he actually did it. it sounds like he ran it through a reverb as well, but it might just be the bank vault acoustics. )

The timbre of the sample you included still sounds like a piano, the only difference is the attacks of the transients. Its lacking a 'stuck' sound to it; similar to the timbre of instrument in Btoum-Roumada. I think the Aphex song in question was made with a traditional instrument (i.e. not a synthesizer), but not a piano (or a prepared one for that matter).

Example, the harmonium used in Qkthr.

Well if it's a traditional instrument it must be at the least two at once as those bells sound pretty unique and can't be one instrument. I wouldn't rule out a prepared piano still though; the bell chiming I'm convinced is possible to get through preparing a piano just right. With the proper effects added to the audio it would seem like such a sound wouldn't be impossible. I think the chiming is more noticeable at the high registers of the piano prepared as it is, while the lower registers sound similar, but the bell sound isn't as much dominating the timbre, thus giving the impression there's two instruments at work when you play the whole song on the keyboard.

It could very easily be one instrument playing the whole song. It could have even been recorded in one take, live, and the reverb occurring naturally from the recording environment. In fact, I think that's exactly the way it was done.

There's no official way to "prepare" a piano anyway.

I've always thought this track was made with bells ran through effects.