Official Piano Day 2020 Playlist
Happy Piano Day!

Artwork: Alice Baldwin.

Piano Day 2020 Playlist

piano day 2020

P I A N O

Ultimate Synth & EBM selection_part2

Könnyed

instrumental

The new album 'Spaces' out now on CD/2xLP/Digital via Erased Tapes.

EU order link: http://www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP055
US order link: http://www.midheaven.com/item/spaces-by-frahm-nils-cd

9/10 Drowned In Sound · 9/10 Clash · 4.5/5 Fact · 4.5/5 Resident Advisor · 9/10 Popmatters · 9/10 The Line Of Best Fit · 8.5/10 Under The Radar · 8/10 Exclaim! ★★★★1/2 Music Omh · ★★★★ The Irish Times · ★★★★ Arts Desk

‘Frahm truly excels’ 9/10 Uncut 
‘Frahm works his magic’ ★★★★ Mojo
‘The infinite elasticity of sound’ 7.8 Pitchfork 
‘Improvisatory, wild, heartfelt’ Interview Magazine
‘A fantastic record’ The Guardian Album of the Week 
‘Frahm creates something mesmerising’ ★★★★ The Observer
‘My favourite new piece of music this year’ Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music

erasedtapes.com · nilsfrahm.com

Spaces

Says

Buy 2xLP/CD/DL

Nils Frahm - Says

Color Matching

Original Track: Suilen - Spine
Taking it back with superlogical RAP. Peace!

Dreamin'

Enough Is Enough

Beautiful Suicide

For the Blood in Your Veins (feat. Chris Pohl)

from compilation ‘Algorithmics’ (Piano Day 2017)
Bandcamp: http://bit.ly/2oG1fbz
iTunes: https://itun.es/ca/wNf5ib
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2pfs44p

@edcarlsen
Ed Carlsen: piano, programming
Recorded by Ed Carlsen 
Mixed by Ed Carlsen
Mastered by Emil Thomsen

distorted strings:
Matias Emil Fyhn: Cello
Sofia Kongsgaard Lang: viola
Nanna Treu: violin

Artwork by Marin Blanc (http://www.marinblanc.com)
Layout by Nicolas Hyatt

Ed Carlsen - Weaved (Algorithmics/Piano Day 2017)

In celebration of piano day 2017 I wrote a tune based on my brown colour scale.

Music composed by: Kaleidoscope of Colours/Susanne Geisler
Mixing & Mastering: Henning Fuchs 
https://soundcloud.com/henning-fuchs/sets/film
Image: Sebastian Boguszewicz/unsplash

For more information about colour composing visit:
www.kaleidoscopeofcolours.com
www.facebook.com/kaleidoscopeofcoloursmusic

Nuancen von Braun (Piano Day 2017)

Piano Day 2017

The Norwegian electronic duo, Electro Spectre releases single ‘Little Wonder’.

Electro Spectre originates from the Norwegian pop/electronica scene, and has grown massively the last years. The band's unique sound - combining strong, melodious vocals and sophisticated electronic production - materializes in highly addictive pop music. The songs will lure and seduce you. Caress you. Lead you through light and darkness. Reach for your soul.

Little Wonder

"...like an echo of a classic film soundtrack, [EmpathyTest] wouldn’t sound out of place snaking into the soundtrack of Netflix series Stranger Things’ second season." - The Line of Best Fit

Empathy Test is London-based electronic music duo Isaac Howlett (vocals) and Adam Relf (production). Currently performing their unique brand of emotive, ‘80s tinged synth pop across Europe with the help of Christina Lopez (drums) and Jacob Ferguson Lobo (keyboards), they have previously shared stages with everyone from The Japanese House to Bombay Bicycle Club. Following the success of ‘Seeing Stars’ and ‘By My Side’, Empathy Test are now set to drop new single 'Bare My Soul'.

‘Bare My Soul’ perfectly showcases the childhood friends’ brooding, cinematic sound. Pulsating analogue synthesizers, combined with a staggered drumbeat and rolling toms, drive the track to a dazzling, euphoric chorus. Isaac’s sombre vocals meanwhile, provide snapshots of poignant moments in his formative years, from a friend’s early critique of his “deep and meaningful” song writing, to the death of a girlfriend’s father.

“’Bare My Soul’ is literally about doing just that; baring one's soul. Isaac was initially inspired by a radio documentary he heard about Kurt Cobain, in which someone said, “[Kurt] had this ability to...bare his soul, in a way that no one else could”. The music mirrors that feeling of release when you finally get things off your chest, moving from the dark, suffocating tightness of the verses into the bright, open space of the choruses. The people in the song; Stephen, Blythe, Cassandra and Sophie, are all real people that Isaac encountered growing up” - Empathy Test

With this release, Empathy Test once again demonstrate an effortless ability to translate the atmospherics of classic sci-fi soundtracks into an accessible contemporary pop structure and combine it with confessional lyrics that cut right to the core. Scheduled to arrive on the 21st April, ‘Bare My Soul’ kicks off a PledgeMusic campaign to fund the self-release of Empathy Test’s debut album on the 23rd June.

Empathy Test | Bare My Soul Lyrics

Stephen said why not write something
That’s not so deep and meaningful?
But the truth can be so, 
Tragic and beautiful.

Blythe said she could never
Tell anyone just how she feels.
How will anyone know when,
She caves in and it all gets real?

I want to bare my soul -
In a way that no one can.
In the hope that 
some of you might understand
How it feels 
To be so alone.
To be so alone.
To be so alone.

Cassandra said she’d lost the plot
When she stopped the car to drop me off.
I watched her disappear
Her face reflected in the rear-view mirror.

Sophie woke me in the dead of night
To tell me how her dad had died.
I lie here in the dark but,
Now there’s nowhere left to hide.

Bare My Soul

"Steve Reich in The Hague"  
 14.12.2003
 Bootleg

Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians

Komposition: Florian Burkhardt
Produktion: Luk Zimmermann
Visual Arts: François Chalet
Mastering: Sascha »Busy« Bühren
Promo: Arnold Meyer

Nur Eine Maschine

From 'reflections' for large ensemble.

In his conceptual work Philipp Rumsch transfers the sound aesthetic and compositional principles of Minimal, Pop and Electronic Music into an acoustic and orchestral format. The closing piece 'epilogue' embodies a soloistic reflection for piano solo on the opening piece 'prologue' in which the compositional abstraction is realized by the simultaneous resound of layers played both in reverse but also in original motion.

reflections - epilogue

And the Echo

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

In November, Berlin-based cellist and composer Anne Müller released her long awaited astral debut solo album 'Heliopause'. Named after the border of our solar system, the record crosses physical and invisible borders throughout, sending the cello as a typically classical instrument to exciting new and uncharted territory. ⠀

'Heliopause' followed several Erased Tapes releases featuring Anne, including her celebrated collaboration with Nils Frahm titled '7fingers', appearances on Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm’s 'Collaborative Works', Nils Frahm’s 'All Melody' and his acclaimed soundtrack for the film 'Victoria', Lubomyr Melnyk’s 'Fallen Trees', as well as the two bespoke solo pieces Walzer für Robert and Bel Tono for the label’s 5th and 10th anniversary box sets. In fact, a glance at  Müller’s Discogs boasts credits on over 60 releases since she began recording in 2007. 

Classically trained at Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts under the renowned cellist and conductor Michael Sanderling, Anne Müller performed as a cellist in many of Berlin’s symphonies for some time before choosing a different path with her music and focussing on novel approaches to classical instrumentation. A profound believer in the power of artistic collaboration, Anne’s skilled cello playing and instinctive composition became extremely sought after. Following her work with Nils Frahm, an enduring partnership with singer-songwriter-composer Agnes Obel ensued, touring for five years together and featuring on two albums (Philharmonics Deluxe Edition and Aventine)and most recently, working with multi-instrumentalist Markus Sieber (aka Aukai) on his 2019 album Reminiscence. In between all this, Müller also co-founded the progressive live project Solo Collective along with violinist/singer Alex Stolze and pianist/conceptual artist Sebastian Reynolds, releasing Solo Collective Part One in 2017.

“Müller is superb” — The Guardian⠀
“Once you’ve reached the edge of the solar system, why rush back to Earth?” — Pitchfork⠀
“A meditative collection of gorgeous cello pieces” — NPR⠀
“Plaintive, lyrical and sporadically sublime” — UncutMagazine ⠀
“A confidently bold and richly detailed effort” (8/10) — Exclaim!
“Heliopause is a work of some sophistication” — Electronic Sound Magazine

Heliopause

Aarhus / Reminiscences

Buy LP/CD/DL

Anne Müller - Aarhus / Reminiscences

On October 4th 2019, Penguin Cafe released 'Handfuls of Night', the highly anticipated follow-up to their much applauded 2017 album 'The Imperfect Sea' 

Using gut-stringed violins, viola, cello, bass, percussion, upright and grand pianos, synthesiser, harmonium and more, Arthur Jeffes and his cohorts have crafted a vivid series of panoramic sonic landscapes, that are as rich in cerebral poignancy as they are in emotional depth.

Bookended by the atmospheric ambient piano pieces ‘Winter Sun’ and ‘Midnight Sun’, the album traverses glacial minimalism with ease, combining their signature contemporary classical panoramas, such as the melancholic yet upbeat lead track ‘At the Top of the Hill, They Stood...’ and the colossal cinematic piece ‘Chapter’, with the crystalline folktronica on ‘Pythagorus on the Line Again’ — a re-visiting and continuation of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s 1993 Union Cafe song on the principles of harmonics.

'Handfuls of Night' began life after Greenpeace commissioned Jeffes to write four pieces of music corresponding to four breeds of penguins, to help raise awareness for the endangered Antarctic seas . A fundraising evening at EartH in Hackney followed, where Penguin Cafe premiered the four songs named after their feathered counterparts to a sold out audience; the rousing contemporary folk inflected ‘Chinstrap’, the mournful and minimalistic ‘Adelie’, stoic and rhythmic ‘The Life of an Emperor’ and the wistful, string-laden ‘Gentoo Origin’.

“Such is its mastery of slowly uncoiling drama you can almost taste the salt in the breeze" ★★★★ — MOJO⠀
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"Arthur Jeffes' music has a direct clarity. Dramatic swells and sweeps showcase the jaw-dropping landscape. Most importantly, though, the music carries an environmental message, which is a critical issue for this generation" — A Closer Listen ⠀
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"One of their most impeccable moments to date" ★★★★ — Music OMH ⠀
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"Elegiac strides across epic landscapes... Arthur Jeffes is doing the legacy of his father proud" — Prog Magazine ⠀
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"Another winner from this group, with Jeffes and company mixing minimalism, folk music and classical string writing into a charming combination” ★★★★ — All About Jazz ⠀
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"A sensitive, frequently lovely follow-up to 2017’s ‘The Imperfect Sea… Handfuls of Night’ conjures pastoral panoramas and weathered vistas" — DJ Magazine⠀

Handfuls of Night

Midnight Sun

Penguin Cafe - Midnight Sun

Woven

The Sun Rose

the sun rose

Imperfections (Piano Day 2020) - Single.

Tavolara

#pianoday2020

Taken from the album 'To Believe (Remixes)', released 6 March on Ninja Tune: http://tco.lnk.to/remixesSo

Follow James Heather -
Spotify: http://found.ee/jheather-sp
Apple Music: http://found.ee/jheather-am
Instagram: http://found.ee/jheather-ig
Facebook: http://found.ee/jheather-fb
Twitter: http://found.ee/jheather-tw
Youtube: http://found.ee/jheather-yt
Soundcloud: http://found.ee/jheather-sc

Follow The Cinematic Orchestra -
Spotify: https://found.ee/tco-sp
Apple Music: https://found.ee/tco-am
Instagram: https://found.ee/tco-ig
Facebook: https://found.ee/tco-fb
Twitter: https://found.ee/tco-tw
Youtube: https://found.ee/tco-yt
Bandcamp: https://found.ee/tco-bc
Soundcloud: https://found.ee/tco-sc

To Believe (Remixes)

A Caged Bird/Imitations of Life (James Heather Rework) [feat. Roots Manuva]

Dreams

Light (Piano Day 2020)

The uplifting and reflective closing track from the documentary 'Chasing the Present'. 

Scored by Icelandic composer @snorrihallgrimsson, this intimate piece for piano and cello gently pulls the listener from the stresses of everyday life, immersing them for a moment in a peaceful, dream-like world. 

Stream the full album OST : https://orcd.co/chasing-the-present

Chasing the Present

Acceptance

Download

Snorri Hallgrímsson - Acceptance

thesisproject.bandcamp.com/album/thesi…artyn-heyne

Ben Lukas Boysen - editing, zen garden.
Martyn Heyne - guitar, organ.

Composed, mixed, and mastered by Martyn Heyne + Ben Lukas Boysen at Lichte Studio Berlin.
Additional engineering by Matthias H. Franz Hahn. Vinyl cut by Mike Grinser.

Thank You!
Gregory Euclide, Matthias H. Franz Hahn, everyone at Manners McDade, Erased Tapes Records & Publishing, Claudia Gödke, and Karolina Zenobia Heyne.

Dedicated to Frieda and Frau Bellmann.

Thesis 16

& Martyn Heyne - June

Tribute to PianoDay 2020

Artwork Adrian Meyer



Danke Artemiy Kosarev

Something Stayed

To mark this year’s 88th day and as an acknowledgement to these unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, Piano Day founder, pianist and producer Nils Frahm releases a collection of eight solo piano pieces titled 'Empty'. 

Stream and download 'Empty': https://idol.lnk.to/nils-frahm-empty

Conceived of just before Nils broke his thumb and composed the similarly intimate solo piano album 'Screws', 'Empty' is a soothing vessel of eight simple and serene pieces originally recorded as the music to a short art film he shot with his friend and film director Benoit Toulemonde. Drifting through emotions from the stark and sobering opener 'First Defeat', to the gently euphoric 'No Step On Wing' and the contemplative but hopeful closer 'Black Notes', with its poignant minute of silence, 'Empty' is a comforting score for these turbulent times.

“When I came back from the hospital with a broken thumb and listened to the recordings, I felt they were unfinished. I decided to put them aside and started to work on my small album, 'Screws'. 

Many many other notes of the piano have been struck since these days, and before we all forget about this, I thought it would be a good moment to share these lullabies with you. I hope they help you stay all strong and calm in these days of solitude – despite the hardship, we can discover introspection and reflection unexpectedly. Who knows what it is good for.  
 
Much love, Nils”

Empty

No Step On Wing

Stream & order LP · CD

Nils Frahm - No Step On Wing

Kindred piano lovers Peter Broderick and David Allred have gifted the sheet music for their song Hey Stranger, taken from their collaborative 2017 record Find The Ways. Reminding us of the importance and power of friendship, it was originally performed on double bass, with Peter on violin and the two singing together. David kindly recorded this solo piano version to make it easier for you to follow the notes.

www.allredbroderick.com
www.pianoday.org

Find The Ways

Hey Stranger (Solo Piano Version)

Free sheet music

Allred & Broderick - Hey Stranger (Solo Piano Version)

@jiszlai

The Budapest-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Iszlai has put the finishing touches on a collection of exploratory, genre-merging tracks; Jazzamped blends the borders between freeform composition and timeless sample collaging.

Each track merges a bevy of organic, original instrumentation with precision synthesis and imaginative resampling. The underlying ensemble atmosphere across the album ties it together like a film grain on a dramatic vignette, with every texture feeling at once distinct, specific, and homogenous with the culture of tones that surround it. It’s hard to avoid the draw of Iszlai’s arrangements, and it’s even harder to pinpoint any comparisons; each song in tandem betrays a stunning compositional scope, and Jazzamped channels that musicianship into a veritable adventure through Iszlai’s aural imagination.

Jazzamped

Iszlai - Chihiro Ogino

Uplifting and vibey breaks tune I just finished. This one features vocal samples from 'Jane - It's A Fine Day'. Please leave a comment if you're feelin it! Safe.

Something Stayed

Paul Keilhau