''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

''This piece was born after a studio session with artist Hideyuki Hashimoto, who lives in Shikoku Prefecture in Japan. Shikoku is one of the islands in the Japanese archipelago, which has 88 important pilgrimage sites (like the # of keys on the piano :). The song took its shape organically from the historic atmosphere of the island, the peaceful vibe of Hideyuki and his family, and the gentle waves seen from Olive Park nearby.'' - Hiroko Murakami @hiroco-m

🎧 https://moderna.ampl.ink/olivepark

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.

Olive Park

Hiroco.M - Olive Park

This piece began its life in Nat Bartsch's soundtrack for the Australian documentary ‘Whatever Scares You’. The coming-of-age film centers around a young protagonist named Breanna who discovers she is neurodivergent. In a scene Breanna joins Nat at the piano and learns of Nat’s own experiences of neurodiversity. The piece seeks to capture Breanna’s vibrancy, determination, naiveté and vulnerability, qualities Nat also sees in herself. We hear Nat's jazz influences on the piano, infused with ethereal and minimalist textures.

🎧 https://moderna.ampl.ink/breanna

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.

Breanna

Nat Bartsch - Breanna

The other day I watched a video of a pianist signed to a major record label performing his latest magnum opus. It was so bad. I hate to talk smack on the platform which I have purposely devoted to the absolute positive expansion of the music. But there was just something about that particular performance that really turned me off. Was it the formulaic basic chord progression? Was it the senseless pounding on helpless piano keys? Or was it simply a lack of all emotion, in which the execution of this piece seemed to exist? I was a bit dismayed [to say the least], and so I actually sat down and then composed a piano piece myself. I guess it was a sort of insurrection against the mass-produced, the stamped and truly tepid. I guess I simply wanted to make sure that feelings still may be conveyed. So it's no wonder that this morning I turn over to one of my favourite independent labels and their latest upcoming release from Tom Adams to premiere his beautiful and tender track. At just a bit over two minutes in length, the deceptively simple notes gently fall upon these spent and tired ears, and suddenly I am cradled in the warmth of intimate and sensitive sounds, and suddenly I hear the emotion and the soul. It's not the instrument, the chords, and not the melody. It's not the colours, not the flavours, not the words. It's how these all transmit from one towards another. It's how the message is conveyed and then received. And if it fails to carry all that must be mentioned, then maybe it's not worth in saying it at all. But in the case of Adams' morning afterglow of sounds, I'm glad he shared it with Moderna and with me.

"Golden waves is an album about experiential flow, and the many forms in which it can be enjoyed. In the winter of 2021 a series of heavy storms hit the south west of England, in their wake came lines of swell that broke upon the coastline of Cornwall in a joyful rhythm. During that time I went out each day searching for waves with my surfboard. As the sun set the light would often reflect golden across the water and the lines of arriving swell. After the surf, and with visions of those golden waves still playing in my mind I recorded a series of late night piano improvisations. This album is a collection of my favourite moments from these sessions." - Tom Adams

Golden Waves

Afterglow 1

TRACK PREMIERE : Tom Adams - Afterglow 1

A touching homage to the Golden Piano Era,  this song evokes a sense of longing and introspection through melancholic undertones and a reflective atmosphere, inviting listeners to embark on an emotional journey where memories intertwine with the present.

Petit élégie

Stream/Download

Silent Horizon

histle

MaDiMo, The Yume Collective - Fireside Moments

Debut album out now. Spotify: spoti.fi/1U5h5Ss and Limited Edition: bit.ly/1HZ7uJj

Grey Cloud Lullaby

When You Take Off Your Shoes

Nathan Shubert - When You Take Off Your Shoes

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

say hello / licensing / demos 
modernarecords@gmail.com

We're here to trace a line from electronic sound designers to classical composers, connecting them through the realms of ambient & cinematic music.