Definitions

The Silver Tree

In Exile

The rainforests of Malaysia are some of the richest on the planet. While several national parks have been established in the country, large areas of primary forest still exist outside park borders, and it's these unprotected forests that are facing rapid & systemic destruction.

In March 2014 I spent a week in and around Taman Negara National Park recording the extraordinary sights and sounds of this stunning area. Sadly, only a few kilometres from park headquarters in Kuala Tahan, extensive areas of virgin forest are being logged and cleared for palm oil plantations. It's a story being played out throughout the world, as governments & corporations see forests as having more value dead than alive.

Recorded from a logging access road adjacent to pristine, primary rainforest, this is a sampler featuring some of the unique & beautiful natural sounds of this precious habitat.

Rainforest On The Edge

Rainforest On The Edge - Natural soundscapes recorded in Malaysia's lowland rainforest

Part of a Brain Pickings collaboration with the 92Y and artist Ohara Hale – see illustrated interpretations of the poems here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/04/28/denise-levertov-92y-ohara-hale

Recorded live at the https://soundcloud.com/92y

Audio exclusively available courtesy of the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center and the Denise Levertov estate. 

MORE/ARTWORK

Denise Levertov reads "Love Song" (1963)

''The creaking of our piano reminiscent of the back-and-forth mechanical motion of a loom at work, as musical threads are interwoven to create a whole greater than any single part. The melody is at once familiar but, as is often the way with memory, it transforms a little every time it’s revisited.'' - @petraleksander

🎧 https://moderna.ampl.ink/threads

Canadian minimalist instrumental label Moderna Records presents their annual piano day collection featuring twelve pieces from composers and pianists around the world. Their 2023 compilation 'Fractals' is centred around the upright piano, with a curation focused on the label’s signature melodic minimalism. The contributions were selected with great care, while showcasing each pianist’s unique flair on the instrument. Fractals includes pieces from Akira Kosemura (JP), Hiroco.M (JP), Jacob David (DK), Eik Octobre (DK), Ole-Bjørn Talstad (NO), Julia Gjertsen (NO), Sten Erland Hermundstad (NO), Mike Lazarev (UK), Pêtr Aleksänder (UK), Jozef De Schutter (CH), Felix Rösch (DE) and Nat Bartsch (AU). The series is mastered by Tom Adams in the UK and set to artwork by UK designer Iain Perry.

Fractals

Threads

⊜ spotify

Pêtr Aleksänder - Threads

“Jeff Linsky and Lisa Linsky have pulled the curtains back on something that is really fascinating, and thoroughly enjoyable.
…the Linsky’s have taken a much adored piece and offered an alternate style and it works superbly, the piano drives a steady and textured performance, whilst the acoustic guitar from Jeff adds a layer of lightness to the presentation that makes the composition all that more open and accessible. I can personally see this version going down well with listeners…”
~Steve Sheppard, One World Music Radio

Ave Maria, Bach/Gounod

Ein weiterer kleiner Auszug aus meinem 4.Album "Liebe & Tasten", dass am 1.12.2017 das Licht der Welt erblicken wird. Aus diesem und vieeelen andere Songs wird das Doppelalbum bestehen, das wir uns gerade durch ein Crowdfunding finanzieren und im Studio des Filmorchesters Babelsberg aufnehmen möchten. Wir freuen uns über jeden der dabei ist (und als Belohnung z.b. das Album ein paar Wochen früher bekommt)!

Hier gehts zum Crowdfunding: https://www.startnext.com/klaviermusik-zum-davontraeumen

Komm, Komm Nach Hause

Bruno Sanfilippo​ - 'Unity' 
Label; Dronarivm 
Cat #.: DR-51
Format: CD / DL
Release date: 16 Feb 2018

Bruno Sanfilippo’s newest album, Unity, is an emotionally evocative collection that moves the listener through moments that exalt the senses. Through cyclical and minimalist sound, the composer creates visceral experiences that are both ethereal and hauntingly beautiful. 

Bruno Sanfilippo is a classically trained musician and composer. His focus alternates between the exploration of minimalist piano concepts and electroacoustic music. He is obsessed with the search for new and unique qualities in music - the amazing, the magical and the deep. In dreams, there's no imagined thing that's too absurd, too strange, and Bruno Sanfilippo's music comes from that inexhaustible and shameless source.

Buy CD / DL

BRUNO SANFILIPPO - Cyclical

Latest album by Aukai

Featured on BBC6 Music Recommends
CD of the Month on Echoes Radio January 2019

Order Limited Edition CD:  https://aukai.bandcamp.com/album/reminiscence
Watch the video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eVlyTRMPu8

Reminiscence

10 Elena

September 20th marks the 30th birthday of Berlin pianist Nils Frahm, but also the day he has chosen to give his fans a special gift in the form of 9 songs he recorded with 9 fingers, entitled 'Screws'.

Nils experienced an unfortunate accident which saw him fall from his bunk bed located directly above his studio, which resulted in a broken thumb. But through inspiration from his fans and after a gentle walk and talk through the park with a close friend, he decided to deal with the situation in the only way he knew – playing his piano.

With four screws surgically placed inside his thumb, he started recording with his remaining 9 fingers, what later resulted in 9 intimate piano recordings.

Fans can download 'Screws' as mp3s or in full 24-bit 44.100 kHz audio quality here (http://screws.durtonstudio.com), and pre-order a Vinyl/CD edition from the Erased Tapes online store (http://erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP046), which will be released later this year.

'I am sitting in front of a sheet of paper. My right hand is bending over my left thumb. The first day I got out of my cast I could bend it by 15°. Now I am already at 50° and that makes me happy. Things are going uphill...

As you can imagine, it is really bad news for a pianist when he gets diagnosed with a broken thumb. That day I was sitting in the emergency room, feeling rather dizzy while thinking of a zillion shows coming up and all the people involved around it. I realised in that moment how busy things have become. It is hard to turn down interesting projects and opportunities, since I surely love my work. It actually never felt like work. Playing piano and playing it for wonderful people is the greatest joy I can imagine.

For a couple of days I felt like this all could be over. How pathetic. But hey – also feeling sorry for yourself has its place somewhere. All of a sudden I had so much time, an unexpected holiday. I cancelled most of my schedule and found myself being a little bored. Even though my doctor told me not to touch a piano for a while, I just couldn't resist. I started playing a silent song with 4 fingers on my left and the remaining 5 on my right hand. I set up one microphone and recorded another tune every other night before falling asleep.

The day I got rid of my cast I had recorded 9 little tunes. They have helped me feel less annoyed about my accident and reminded me that any good is something I can only achieve, when I am making the most out of what I've got.

Thank you all for listening!

With lots of love,

Nils


9FINGERS North American Tour 2012

09/16 New York (US) – West Park Presbyterian Church 
09/21 Boulder (US) – Cherryvale Studios
09/22 Colorado Springs (US) – The Mesa
09/23 Santa Fe (US) – O'Shaughnessy Performance Space @ Santa Fe Uni
09/24 San Fransisco (US) – private show (RSVP only)
09/29 Seattle (US) – Decibel Festival @ Broadway Performance Hall
09/30 Portland (US) – Classic Pianos
10/03 Mexico City (MX) – Mutek

ERASED TAPES 5th Anniversary Tour w/ Ólafur Arnalds & A Winged Victory For The Sullen

10/08 HAMBURG (DE) – Fliegende Bauten
10/09 PRAGUE (CZ) – Palac Akropolis
10/10 BUDAPEST (HU) – Trafo
10/11 MANNHEIM (DE) – Alte Feuerwache
10/13-14 BERLIN (DE) – Radialsystem
10/15 AMSTERDAM (NL) – Paradiso
10/16-17 LEUVEN (BE) – Stuk
10/18 LONDON (UK) – Hackney Empire
10/19-20 ISTANBUL (TR) – Salon IKSV

PREVIOUS PRESS:

'No. 42 Best Albums Of 2011' -The Guardian
'Felt is a transportative album, a balm for troubled minds.' BBC Music
'Frahm’s hyper-intimate recording technique for the album makes Felt a captivating listen' (9/10) DIS

★ ★ ★ ★ – Popmatters ★ ★ ★ ★ – Uncut ★ ★ ★ ★ – Clash ★ ★ ★ ★ – Mojo

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: screws.durtonstudio.com · facebook.com/nilsfrahm · twitter.com/nilsfrahm · erasedtapes.com

Screws

Buy CD/LP/DL

Nils Frahm - Fa

Read more: www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/01/10/massimo-vignelli-debbie-millman/

Excerpt from Debbie Millman's Design Matters interview: https://soundcloud.com/designmatters/massimo-vignelli

Graphic designer Massimo Vignelli defines "junk"

From a BBC radio segment broadcast on April 29th, 1937. Background and transcript:http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/04/29/craftsmanship-virginia-woolf-speaks-1937/ 

MORE/TRANSCRIPT

On Craftsmanship: The only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf's voice

London based pianist and composer Mike Lazarev @headphonecommute celebrates Piano Day 2020 with this delicate offering. 
. . . 
far beyond a time-slice of the past lies a short-lived moment
in that memory, I played the piano and you listened
now all that/s left is that memento and this music
and while i/m forgetting it lives on...
 . . .
Stream on Spotify, AppleMusic : https://orcd.co/forgetting-almost

Forgetting, Almost

Spotify/AppleMusic

Mike Lazarev - Forgetting, Almost

Excerpt from Design Matters with Debbie Millman: https://soundcloud.com/designmatters/roberto-de-vicq

Background and discussion: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/02/25/roberto-de-vicq-de-cumptich-design-matters-debbie-millman/

Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich on the story behind Bembo's Zoo

T.S. Eliot reads from his celebrated classic, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/06/04/t-s-eliot-reads-t-s-eliot-the-ad-dressing-of-cats-1947/

Denise Levertov reads "Love Song" (1963)

brainpicker

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