String figures are a storytelling activity and an age old form of spiritual play. There are hundreds of them, from all over the world, often representing things from nature or day to day objects or activities. The long days of the Covid-19 pandemic UK lockdown and a bewildered mind led me to learning a number of them, picking at random for a welcome distraction. As the months went by and the lockdown continued, I began writing simple melodies to represent the simple, innocent and playful movements of two hands, a piece of string and the passing of time. There was so much uncertainty within the monotonous days and I think this also comes out in the pieces. 

My brilliant friends Mainly Two, a violin duo, recorded this collection of miniatures in the depths of the Black Forest in Germany 48°49'42.4"N 8°23’09.6”E. It had to be outside, everything had to be outside during that time, so you’ll also hear the soundscape of the forest, distant traffic and airplanes that surrounded them.

String Figures

Many Stars

Select your favorite platform:  https://ampl.ink/nRx88 
It's the 4th volume of the Piano Textures Series started in 2007.
Orders on CD and 12" Vinyl: https://bit.ly/PT4-order 
"The newest installment of timelessly acclaimed picturesque storytelling, Piano Textures 4, invites the listener into magnificently intense piano minimalism. These nine compositions are evocative sonic sculptures, meticulously carved, yet they indeed present different textures".
Analog mastered by Ian Hawgood
Cover by Slovenian photographer Anja Matko 
www.bruno-sanfilippo.com

Piano Textures 4

Piano Textures VII

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Piano Textures 4 VII

A piano note, dropping into a hole in the heart.

Three and a half years have passed since her 4th solo album 'Piano Fantasia' which fascinated music fans in the world by its lovely melodies and piano sounds. The Tokyo-based pianist and member of the cinematic instrumental music band, Anoice, and its side projects, RiLF, Films, and Mizu Amane, Yuki Murata, will release her 5th solo album 'Sunny Spot Story' on April 27, 2022.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Yuki has been working energetically with not only new releases under her own projects such as Anoice's latest album 'The Hidden Forest' and RiLF's latest album 'My Beloved Farewell' but also soundtracks for various types of video works; Robin Bain's 'Girl Lost: A Hollywood Story', Joey Fingers's 'Reduction In Force', and Osamu Minorikawa's 'I Eat the Tears', TV drama series such as TV TOKYO's 'My Husband is Sleeping in the Freezer' and MBS's 'Love Phantom', and enlightenment videos produced by Japanese government's organizations such as Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. However, her talent, which is admired by famous Japanese composers, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Nobuo Uematsu, and Takeshi Kobayashi, and has left her name in the history books of the three major international film festivals, Cannes, Berlin, and Venezia, is alive here.

This album 'Sunny Spot Story' comes in a set of two CDs; Disc.1 with 14 songs and Disc.2 with 10 songs. The songs included in Disc.1 were recorded at Anoice's studio and a large concert hall, together with the same instrumental players with Anoice's latest album 'The Hidden Forest’. It consists of mainly simple piano solo songs such as the first lead single 'shall we dance' and 'song for brahms', and also beautiful neo-classical songs with warm atmosphere played by a piano and string trio formed by a violin, a viola, and a cello as heard in the second lead single 'with all of my love' and 'my perfect place'. Disc.2 includes improvised solo piano compositions which Yuki played on her own piano with a simple recording equipment while under a state of emergency due to the pandemic and features a more stripped down sound in contrast to the songs on Disc.1.

This is a new masterpiece featuring a piano just like the great works from film music composers Thomas Newman and Alan Silvestri and neoclassical artists Max Richter and Jóhann Jóhannsson.


The album 'Sunny Spot Story' will be released on number-limited 15cm×15cm-sized box version which includes two compact discs, personally signed sheet music of one of the album songs 'shall we dance', and two visual cards with music credits.Disc.2 and its 10 songs will only be available on this box-set, and will not be on any digital music platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify.

Continuing from Anoice's latest album 'The Hidden Forest', Naoko Okada took charge of the illustrations and Takahiro Kido from Anoice also joined as the art designer, bringing together a perfect collaboration with Yuki Murata's beautiful music.

BandCamp:
https://riccolabel.bandcamp.com/album/sunny-spot-story

Sunny Spot Story

BandCamp

tango in blue (Anoice / Yuki Murata 'Sunny Spot Story')

Passione - 50 Romantic Music Pieces

Eros Profondo

piano project

Flushed Red

A slow ascent through memory, solitude, and light; each movement shaped by invisible forces that guide and dissolve. The journey unfolds like an ancestral pulse buried beneath glass and silence, where each reflection carries weight and liberation. What begins in fragility ends in transcendence, leaving only the echo of the familiar.

The Silent Oath

Brüder

Brüder (Piano day 2017)

if you want to use this piece in film or other media: https://sonata.media/artist/richard-hellgren/c81d29e3-0780-41e4-a8a3-e2d0fbb07314

Nocturne

I started playing the piano back in 2015 (self-taught) and I feel i'm at a level where I can start sharing my ideas. So this song is one of those. Inspired by one of my big idols, Nils Frahm. He is the reason why I started playing in the first place, so be sure to look him up bc he really knows what he's doing! 

Enjoy!

Kabat Zinn

Leaving Home is my newest released single. Check it out on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/track/642wESZfwvFlo0PG4lAV9H?si=RXxczL8TS0ar6Kh6_qQqzQ

Leaving Home

Matthieu was born in 1982 in eastern France. He's been playing piano since his childhood.
He's inspired by everything around him. Life, emotions, experiences, but above all by nature in which he spends a lot of time.
A piano lover, Matthieu offers an invitation to escape to quietness and tranquility, with touches of melancholy and nostalgia.

Brüder (Piano day 2017)

MR