Highly sensitive people are too often, perceived as weaklings or damaged goods. To feel intensely is not a symptom ofweakness, it is the trademark of the truly alive and compassionate. It is not the empath who is broken. It is a society that has become dysfunctional and emotionally disabled. There is no shame in expressing your authentic feelings. Those who are at times described as being a 'hot mess' or having 'too many issues' are the very fabric of what keeps the dream alive for a more caring, humane world. Never be ashamed to let your tears shine a light in this world. _Anthon St. Maarten

Winter Morning.woodkid-Nilsfrahm-Ellis island story.mp3

Ólafur Arnalds - So Far Ft. Arnor Dan (Broadchurch)

Solo Remains are previously unreleased tracks from Nils Frahm’s album Solo, which was recorded on the M370, the world’s largest piano, built by the visionary piano maker David Klavins in 1987.

Nils fell in love with the sound of this giant and joined David for the new project – building an even higher piano – the Model 450. The aim of it is to explore the not yet reached physical limits of the piano instrument and also to push forward into new musical dimensions. The M450 will be characterized by an even clearer sound with more depth and richness of overtones as well as an unrivaled frequency spectrum and intensity of sound and tone. In time for the 2nd anniversary of Piano Day, Nils decided to give four previously unreleased songs from that very session to his fans and supporters of the Klavins 450 project.

“In the end, every album production leaves you with the same tough task – making the choices for the final track selection. You leave out some tracks for various reasons: some of the tracks are wonderful by themselves, but they simple don’t fit anywhere in the album and others have to be left out because otherwise the vinyl would become too long for a cut in good quality. However, these outtakes are often as important as the final selection and I thought, they might be a great surprise for Piano Day too. I hope in this case, it’s both …”

Solo Remains is available for free download in 24-bit and mp3 format.
http://www.nilsfrahm.com/works/solo-remains/

Taken from their forthcoming mini-album 'Ellis' out July 8 on Erased Tapes.

Pre-order the LP/CD/DL here: www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP086
or from iTunes here: http://snip.ftpromo.net/ellis

For the first half of the twentieth century, Ellis Island stood as the gateway to America. For some twelve million people, it was their first encounter with the land they hoped to call home. 

Directed by acclaimed artist JR, ELLIS tells the story of one such migrant. Starring Robert De Niro, the film winds its way through the crumbling hallways of the abandoned Ellis Island hospital complex, now home to JR’s Unframed art installation. It’s a place that reverberates with the hopes and fears of those who passed through it, the echoes especially resonant today.

Entwined with the narrative is a score composed by Woodkid, performed and co-written by Nils Frahm. The delicate piano motifs of Winter Morning I culminate in a crescendo of strings, while the harmonium swells on the B-side are the foundation for De Niro’s narration: an encomium for those who shaped modern America. 

There’s perhaps never been a more fitting time for this story, with all the proceeds going to the Sea Watch initiative, a non-profit charity dedicated to the protection and rescue of civilian refugees. 

Following a screening as part of Nils’s Barbican Weekender, the ELLIS score will be out July 8th, the same week as America’s great federal holiday. It will be available via Erased Tapes as a mini album on CD, vinyl and in digital format containing a 12-page picture booklet.


IN THE ARTISTS’ OWN WORDS:

Nils Frahm: ‘The opportunity to work on JR´s fantastic short film ELLIS came through my good friend Yoann aka Woodkid. We agreed on recording the piano parts in my studio in Berlin and so it happened that JR and Woodkid were guests at Durton studio on a wonderful late summer day in 2015. We managed to record all the crucial elements that day. The music fell in our laps and melted with the images: a wonderful experience. The film has stuck in my head ever since; it moved my heart and changed my soul.

A couple of weeks later I had to cancel a trip to Brussels because of a terror warning; all events got cancelled and I stayed home, having an unexpected day off. I felt rather depressed that day, thinking that the Europe I knew was already gone. I sat down at the harmonium, listened to Robert De Niro’s voice and played for the rest of the day. The result is ‘Winter Morning II,’ the B-side of the ELLIS soundtrack release.

Robert says it all in 17 minutes. We are not facing a refugee crisis. We are facing a crisis because we do not embrace, we do not sympathise and we cannot give up fear. Art can encourage so I hope this project will help fight the fear in all of us.’

Yoann Lemoine, aka Woodkid:  ‘Ellis is my second collaboration with JR after the New York City Ballet piece for Les Bosquets. I initially wanted this piece to sound like it was recorded on an old piano that we found in the ruins of Ellis Island, in the restricted area that is not open to the public, where JR pasted the pictures on the walls for the film Ellis.

I had worked with Nils before and I wanted him to create a sound for this piano part that I composed that was extremely gentle and organic. I wanted the listener to hear the mechanisms, the breathing of the instrument. I wanted it to be imperfect, to sound like a ruin, a trace, an echo, the way the pastings on the walls seem to be ghosts, almost imperceptible.

After a few rehearsals, Nils stripped down my piano parts and we removed almost all orchestration around the piano. He then worked on the extended version that is his interpretation of my piece, with Robert de Niro’s vocals.

Because this film and this recording is historically meaningful, it was important for us to create this piece as an echo to the immigration situation in Europe, and decided to release it in support of Sea Watch.’

Ellis

Winter Morning I

Buy LP/CD/DL

Woodkid & Nils Frahm - Winter Morning I

You can PRE-ORDER Living Room Songs on CD/LP/Download or Special Edition CD&amp;DVD here: 
http://www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP037

ABOUT LIVING ROOM SONGS:

Icelandic contemporary composer Ólafur Arnalds created and released a new song, one per day for one for one whole week during the month of October 2011. The songs were recorded and filmed live in the living room of his Reykjavik apartment and released instantly for free as streamed videos and mp3 downloads.

Thousands of fans followed this exciting project online at: livingroomsongs.olafurarnalds.com

Living Room Songs will now also be released on CD, Vinyl, Ltd. Special Edition CD &amp; DVD and as High Quality Downloads on December 5th via Erased Tapes.


Following in the spirit of Ólafur Arnalds’ critically acclaimed Found Songs (2009) now comes Living Room Songs. This time Ólafur takes the idea further and invites the audience into the comfort of his living room, where the songs were recorded live and the whole process filmed. The songs were instantly released in form of a free mp3 download and video stream- straight from Ólafur's Reykjavik apartment.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: ‘One night I was just playing my piano here in this apartment and I was writing a new song and I didn't have my phone on me which I usually use to record ideas. So I actually took out my MacBook and I didn't want to open like a proper recording program, so I just opened Photo Booth and recorded a video of myself playing the song so that I would remember the song. And I really liked the atmosphere of that video and that's when I thought I should do a series of songs in my living room...’             – Ólafur Arnalds


Born in the suburban Icelandic town of Mosfellsbær, a few kilometers outside of Reykjavík, the 24-year old composer has always enjoyed pushing boundaries with both his studio work and his live-shows. Through relentless touring and determination this young artist has steadily gained recognition worldwide since his 2007 debut Eulogy for Evolution. Ólafur Arnalds’ second full-length album ...and they have escaped the weight of darkness, continues his mission to lure an indie-generation of pop and rock fans into an emotive world of beguiling electronic chamber music and delicate classical arrangements. Ólafur is currently touring with Ryuichi Sakamoto on his Trio Tour throughout Europe.

'The indie kid who knows the score’ – Guardian’s Observer

'Timeless and sublime’ **** – Uncut

'An artist of immense maturity' (9/10) – Drowned In Sound

'Hotwired to the soul. ...will reduce you to wordless tears'  – The Quietus


 
TRACK LISTING: 

I. Fyrsta 
II. Near Light 
III. Film Credits 
IV. Tomorrow's Song 
V. Ágúst 
VI. Lag Fyrir Ömmu 
VII. This Place Is A Shelter


Near Light

Ólafur Arnalds - Near Light

For Piano Day 2017 I give you this little tune for Piano and Viola from the score for a documentary called Out Of Thin Air (coming later in 2017)

Viola: Karl Pestka

Slow Decay (Out of Thin Air - OST) Piano Day 2017

Can I Call You Tonight?

Cigarettes After Sex

John Wayne

uploaded from 8-Track tape recorded in 1973

"Us And Them" - Pink Floyd  (8-track tape)

"Be soft☮︎︎☮︎︎..Do not let the world make you hard.Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."

Winter Morning.woodkid-Nilsfrahm-Ellis island story.mp3

Mars art box

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