when life was like this

A record for an overconnected world, On Solitude by Hiroshi Ebina captures the quiet hum of disconnection, the pulse of digital fatigue, and the grace of stillness rediscovered. Across drifting rhythms and vaporous synths, he traces a new emotional landscape between ambient reflection, dream-techno clarity, and what he calls post-digital minimalism.

Ebina’s third album for KITCHEN. LABEL unfolds as a quiet rebellion against hyperconnectivity, reflecting on being unseen not as isolation but renewal, a way of hearing oneself again in a world that never stops speaking. The work finds kindred spirit in Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, its rhythm shaped by the poetry of routine and the lightness of repetition. With On Solitude, Ebina invites listeners to pause and observe how their mind and heart respond to sound, rediscovering parts of themselves that everyday life leaves unheard. Each piece becomes an inner dialogue, an intimate encounter with memory, emotion, and thought, accessible only in stillness.

Musically, On Solitude expands beyond his earlier works into a more textured field of motion and tone, somewhere between the slow cadences of post-classical composition, the warm circuitry of dream-pop, and the luminous bloom of soft techno. “The Village in the Sky,” featuring Hinako Omori, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary electronic music, opens the album in a breath of quiet radiance. “Your Mind Is Like the Ocean” unfolds with tides of resonant synths and low-end drift, evoking turbulence and calm in the same gesture. “Saudade da Memória Perdida” layers fragile music boxes like fading childhood echoes, while “One Step Closer to Awareness” pulses with hypnotic clarity, a moment of awakening disguised as rhythm.

The record’s latter half dissolves language altogether. “Transience / Permanence” and “Quiescence” suspend time in spectral piano tones, while “Hokokuji Bamboo Forest” filters environmental sound into a delicate ecology of tone and wind. The closing track, “A Silent Room,” features marucoporoporo, a rising artist shaping Japan’s new ambient generation, whose gentle vocals lend a human warmth to the stillness, like the trace of breath in a quiet morning.

On Solitude will be released on 20 February 2026 in limited-edition grey vinyl, CD, and digital formats. Mastered by Joseph Branciforte at Greyfade Studio, New York. Featuring artwork by Chizuru Masumura, an established Japanese painter whose works have been exhibited widely across Japan.


01 The Village in the Sky (feat. Hinako Omori)

left piano

Piano Solo Concert in Paris, January 9, 2026

Italo-Argentinian pianist Bruno Sanfilippo presents The Beauty of Now, an optimistic and gently luminous piano piece. With hints of bucolic charm, it invites listeners to immerse themselves in the present and savor each moment. The warm, expressive piano tone creates a sense of serenity and quiet joy. A reflective and uplifting composition that inspires mindfulness and appreciation. Released by the reflective neoclassical label ad21.

The Beauty of Now

Listen

Katy, a piano solo piece from my new album  "Portraits" available now.

Katy

ad21 present Petricor, the new EP by Spanish pianist Ara_piano, a delicate, intimate collection shaped by calm emotions, soft melancholy and the quiet poetry of everyday moments.
Across these pieces, Ara explores a world of warm felt-piano textures, subtle nuances and heartfelt expression. Petricor evokes the scent of rain, the softness of light, and the gentle introspection that follows.
Each track feels like a small emotional landscape, tender and reflective, inviting the listener into a space of stillness and sensitivity.
A beautifully cohesive work from an artist who continues to deepen her voice with every release.

Petricor

Domingo Lluvioso

Bruma

Esencias

The following track originally premiered on Headphone Community. Join us now for as little as $1 a month and get early access to unreleased music, in-depth interviews, and exclusive download codes for lossless albums. Plus you get to spend time with a community of music lovers and the musicians themselves!  https://www.patreon.com/HeadphoneCommunity

/////////////////////

Joachim Spieth is a German electronic music producer known for his deep, highly textural, atmospheric ambient music and deconstructed, sometimes dubby, hypnotic techno. His sound encompasses everything I love about Kompakt, where he initially appeared as part of the celebrated Pop Ambient series. In 2007, Joachim founded his Affin imprint, on which he showcases many of his own works, collaborations (with Markus Guentner, warmth, and, yes, zakè), and other solo artists (Gustavo Lamas, rhubiqs, Droneghost, to name a few). 

I covered plenty of Affin releases on HC, and I highly recommend getting lost in the discography on Bandcamp. I also interviewed Joachim exactly a year ago (in December of 2024) and published this In the studio with Joachim Spieth on Headphone Commute. But today I want to share with you his latest piece, titled Rephrase, a single track (for now), which Joachim offered up exclusively to this community [and yes, he's lurking here in the background].

"This piece emerged during preparations for a live set. It is composed of fragmented elements drawn from various previously released tracks, intricately interwoven and transformed through a series of modulators evolving over time. While certain passages may sound familiar, the result is not a “version” of any existing work, but rather a hybrid composition — a fusion of multiple fragments recontextualized into a new and autonomous form."
 -- Joachim Spieth

HEADPHONE COMMUNITY EXCLUSIVE: Joachim Spieth - Rephrase

02 (After) Shape 1

NOOX, or North of Oxford St. Serving artists since 2015. Founded by Doug Thomas.

02 (After) Shape 1

NOOX

Related tracks