Exercises (EP)

Exercises
EP by CFCF
Released	April 12, 2012
Recorded	2011
Studio	Michael Silver's home in Montreal, Paris, and GS Mastering & Post in Stockholm
Genre	Modern classical ambient[1][2] minimal indie synthpop[3] progressive electronica[2] new age[2]
Length	26:29
Label	Paper Bag Dummy
Producer	CFCF
CFCF chronology
The River (2010) Exercises (2012) Music for Objects (2013)
Singles from The River
"Exercise #3 (Building)" Released: February 2, 2012 "Exercise #5 (September)" Released: April 6, 2012

Exercises is the fifth extended play in the discography of Canadian musician Michael Silver, known by his stage name as CFCF. The extended play was inspired by brutalist architecture and several synthesizer-heavy modern classical and piano-only works that Silver listened to during the fall and winter of 2010–11, which were the "soundtrack" to how he felt "kind of uncertain” in those seasons. Its cover art by Ken Schwarz, Josh Clancy, and Travis Stearns shows one of the buildings the extended play was inspired by.

Exercises was produced with very limited resources; the piano was not an actual live piano but rather a replication from a software instrument plug-in. Each cut on Exercises is a minimal track that involves a piano that slowly builds around other sounds like quiet drums and synthesizers. It follows a more classical and less dance music-based style with more "simple" compositions than his past releases. The EP features a "semi-cover" of "September," a track by English singer-songwriter David Sylvian.

Promoted with two pre-EP track releases and a music video, Exercises was in released in 2012 by the labels Paper Bag Records and Dummy Records. It garnered generally very favorable reviews upon its distribution, ranking number 14 on a list of the best dance and electronic releases of 2012 by Exclaim!. Some reviewers highlighted the expansion of Silver's musical scope with the EP, while critics with more mixed opinions on the record felt it sounded too nice and lacked in having surprising or exciting moments.