Very touching music, sets the scene very well

Begleitung (Gianluca Piacenza)

Non-eternal

Non-eternal (Piano Short Edit)

Purchase: https://heliosmusic.bandcamp.com/track/light-shade

Goldmund - Light and Shade

In the fall of last year, I was asked to participate in Bigo & Twigetti's fifth volume of the Perceptions compilation series, which explores various approaches to piano music. Complimenting the sound of the solo piano, these compositions also utilise nominal processing, sound effects, synthesis, and binaural recording techniques, all aiming to create an immersive listening experience while still showcasing my beloved instrument. As the clock ticked away and the deadline approached, I realised I hadn't found time to compose my contribution. For a few weeks, I've experienced a gnawing feeling of self-imposed pressure, mixed with anxiety and procrastination, that looped on itself and left me fatigued. I'm sure plenty of composers who are reading these words, especially those working on a deadline (like film soundtracks), know what I'm talking about. This, in itself, gave me a taste of this process at work. I learned that I simply cannot try and force things or make them appear. For me, music, as Victor Hugo once said, "expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent…" I needed to have something special to say...

As the end of the year approached, I found myself in that "usual space" of December, where the dark and the cold seemed to mix with my mood, and I recount the days and the moments of passing. There's always reflection on what I've achieved, and of course, I look back at my favourite albums of the year. Somewhere around this time, I arrive at the acceptance of failure, preparing to message the label and withdraw from the project. I think I'm too busy with "all other stuff". Perhaps I'll start over as the new year turns. Perhaps I'll become a bit more organised or not commit myself to the deadlines. In the very last days of the year, I find myself investing time in consoling my friend whose mother has passed away. As always, besides the grief for another, we find ourselves reflecting on our own mortality... and the meaning of it all... As the clock strikes midnight, I am deep asleep. But the morning comes, as it does every morning. And we're at it again, starting fresh and anew. The windows open, and we breathe in and out. Maybe this time, it will be slightly different. Maybe this time we have learned... On the morning of January 1st, I find myself sitting at the piano and playing this simple melody. I hope that you'll hear what I'm saying in music...

Perceptions Vol​​​.​​​5

Morning, January 1st

Mike Lazarev - Morning, January 1st

This morning, I am blissfully spending my time in the company of Swedish composer and pianist Matti Bye, who first appeared on these pages back in 2017 with a video that I premiered titled Melt. Having scored more than a few films and being awarded Sweden’s prestigious Guldbaggen for Best Original Music for Faro, Bye knows exactly how to paint deep atmospheres full of mystery and awe. Listening to his latest album for my beloved Denovali, I am transported into a shadowy speakeasy full of jazzy notes and curling smoke. I find myself comfortably sitting in a corner, sipping on Glenfarclas while Matti plays the piano, just for me. Capri Clouds is the third album in the trilogy, which began with Bethanien (2020) and This Forgotten Land (2020), and until this one drops later in the spring of this year, you may want to start your journey there. All showcase somewhat nostalgic, slightly haunting and serene imagery, barely jazzy, neo-classic, and lo-fi. Today, I am premiering the title track for you, which I hope you enjoy… rain, birds, a bit of chit-chat and all…

"These songs go straight to the heart and to the senses, and create images in your head. Stories from your own memory bank, as well as new visions – music to lean into, meditatively and hopefully longing. But there is also an undertone of something dark and desolate."

Capri Clouds

TRACK PREMIERE : Matti Bye - Capri Clouds

Music for string orchestra.

Follow:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pHCm7cvE0ADlPp68tScqW

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/steven-gutheinz/1421925543

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/steven-gutheinz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevengutheinz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevengutheinzmusic/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stevengutheinz

Bandcamp: https://stevengutheinz.bandcamp.com

Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/artists/steven-gutheinz/4360

Web: https://stevengutheinz.com

Faint

Interlude II

Today, I'm excited to share with you a new piece by the Icelandic composer Snorri Hallgrímsson, whom I've been closely following since his debut, Orbit, released by Moderna in 2018. Even back then, I could somewhat predict the trajectory of this young artist, who, as I said, has been drinking from the same pool of Icelandic inspiration which has quenched the thirst of some of the world's renowned composers, like Ólafur Arnalds and of course, the dearly missed Jóhann Jóhannsson. Hallgrímsson's sophomore release, I Am Weary, Don’t Let Me Rest, which I am playing right now as I prepare this writeup, was a particular favourite of mine, even as I recognised some of the subtle influence of the above master of the modern classical genre. In this specific case, that should be acknowledged as an enormous compliment - if Jóhann continues to be here through the music of others, I feel slightly better and not so forlorn. This spring, Hallgrímsson returns to Moderna with an original soundtrack for Guy Davidi's documentary called Innocence. "The film is a harrowing insight into what it's like to grow up in a heavily militarized state where military service isn't only compulsory but is seen as a moral and cultural obligation as well." I think the cover of a little girl handling a machine gun tells it all. And yet, it's Hallgrímsson's gorgeous music that takes it to a whole new level.

Innocence (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Girl in the Dark

TRACK PREMIERE : Snorri Hallgrímsson - The Girl In The Dark

Genre: Romantic, Sentimental
Mood: Sad, Inspirational, Reflective, Romantic
Theme: Worship, Romantic, Wedding, Sentimental, Memories
Instruments: Acoustic Piano

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/gentlejammers/loneliness

Loneliness

Use it in your video!

Look, I know that many of my opening words often begin with “Today, I am thrilled to share with you a new piece by [so and so]”, but how can I not use the exact same opening line when one of my all-time favourite piano composers reaches out to me to premiere a piece from his newly-announced long-awaited album? This Norwegian musician’s first proper solo studio release appeared on the beloved Sonic Pieces in 2014, which we only later learned to be part of a trilogy of albums. But that doesn’t mean that I spent only the last decade listening to Otto A. Totland – together with his school friend Erik K. Skodvin, the duo has been making beautiful music as Deaf Center, releasing Neon City EP in 2004 on Type. We now see him being backed by Nils Frahm, who not only shares the production credits on his upcoming new album but also releases Exin on his very own Berlin-based LEITER imprint, which he founded with his manager Felix Grimm only a few years ago. This also means that the album was recorded at Frahm’s studio at Funkhaus complex, offering the most beautiful-sounding piano in the hands of the most beautiful-sounding mind. The emotionally charged and sometimes melancholy sound is still present in Totland’s collection of sixteen solo piano pieces, but there is also an upbeat and vibrant tint on a few, including the first single, “Marka”, which follows a classical staccato harmony that I can envision being played on a harpsichord. Yet pieces like “Lys” take me back to that particular flavour of Totland’s sonic tenderness to pull on my heartstrings, allowing me to get lost in those barely audible reverberations of the keys. The piece I’m sharing with you today is called “Rift”, an introspective and sombre reflection in just a few pensive chords.

Exit

Rift

TRACK PREMIERE : Otto A. Totland - Rift

Light, as perceived & portrayed by Hollie Kenniff (aka Hollie Evelyn) in a fine-drawn dialogue between a sparse piano and pastel synth tones. The mood is one of profound calm and serenity, with each new harmony patiently and perfectly pulling us gently along. In the soft glow, we hang on to every word, just to await that next whisper of consciousness we all yearn for… Portrait of Light is the Canadian-American vocalist and composer's ephemeral contribution to our 2024 single series 'Pigments'. 🎧 https://moderna.ampl.ink/light

Portrait of Light

stream/download

Hollie Evelyn - Portrait of Light

This long-form piece, in which impressionist piano intertwines with sympathetic field recordings and found sounds, makes reference to and is influenced by an experience I had at the Suffolk coast in late-February 2019.

The UK was experiencing especially unseasonably calm and warm weather, and on an early-morning visit to the beach, I encountered a set of circumstances so magical, I had to bring them to life in a musical way.

The unique atmospheric conditions created a panorama, which, combined with the other-worldly landscape of Shingle Street, is hard to convey how special and beautiful it was. I have never seen the sea so still, with barely a lap at the shore. Every sound: the gaps between the shingle filled by the gently-gurgling, placid sea; hordes of gulls, terns - possibly a gannet - grazing on Orford Ness, their squawks echoing shrilly across the glass-still inlet; and the faint tolling of the bell buoy, a mile out to sea, carried across on the gentle breeze.

Four Suffolk Sea Scenes (Mastered)

some original solo piano pieces...  some mixes from my podcast... some exclusive track premieres...  and some tracks from the albums I review for Headphone Commute... Enjoy!

TRACK PREMIERE : Snorri Hallgrímsson - The Girl In The Dark

Headphone Commute

Recent comments

SUN

gaspar monterde

Grahame Arnold

Martin Hoogeboom

Related tracks