In the colors of his native country, Icelandic composer Stefán Hafsteinsson paints motionless landscapes frozen in time and marked by solitude. Sparse notes on the piano unearth a buried, abandoned past seeking to be reconciled from an inevitable absence. Somewhere lies an innate sense of calm… this refuge peaceful, tranquil.

Listen to the track on your favorite platform : orcd.co/otta

@stefan-hafsteinsson

Heima

Ótta

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Stefán Hafsteinsson - Ótta

endear endure

Oceans

Cascade - Philip Daniel and Shawn Williams

Disco

Berlin based cellist and composer Anne Müller shares a second piece, 'Drifting Circles', ahead of her long awaited debut solo album 'Heliopause'.

'Heliopause' follows 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 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.

A solo record in every sense of the word, Müller wrote, recorded, arranged and produced Heliopause. The album is named after the boundary where the sun’s wind ceases to have influence. It is ultimately, the border of our solar system. The name struck a chord with Müller since the two voyagers sent on an exploratory mission 42 years ago, recently crossed the Heliopause, entering into interstellar space and losing power from our own sun. Müller recognised herself in this moment, not only approaching the same age, but also breaking new ground; having relied on collaborating with so many other stars and now venturing into the unknown with her first solo statement; “Heliopause marks the end of a long journey but also the start of voyages to explore strange new worlds”

Both as the closing title track and album as a whole, Heliopause crosses these physical and invisible borders throughout, sending the cello as a typically classical instrument to exciting new and uncharted territory.

· pre-order 'Heliopause' on LP/CD/DL:  idol.lnk.to/Heliopause

Heliopause

Drifting Circles

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Anne Müller - Drifting Circles

US based pianists / keyboardists extraordinaire Jacob Pavek & Philip Daniel have teamed up on the new collaborative project BLOMMA. Their eponymous debut LP is fun and fresh from start to finish, with tunes built on a layering of rhythmic pianos, synths and electronics. We're very stoked to be releasing this luminous piece of music with them to warm this North American winter.

The record drops on February 28th, but the first taste is out now! You can listen to the lead single 'Morrow' in all digital outlets and pre-order the record from our Bandcamp store : https://orcd.co/blomma-morrow

All Music Composed by Philip Daniel and Jacob Pavek
Mixed by Philip Zach
Mastered by Bruce Templeton
Strings by Laurels String Quartet

BLOMMA

Morrow

Spotify ⊜

BLOMMA - Morrow

It brings us so much joy to release new music into the world, especially when it's as fun and downright groovy as BLOMMA's first record. The collaborative project pairs @philipdanielpiano and @jacob-pavek, two musicians and composers who live 600 kms apart in the American midwest and met true 21st century style: on Instagram. Their friendship blossomed quickly, leaving their heavy-hearted melancholic solo projects behind for more luminous and upbeat territories. 

In this piece, Daniel's tender melody on felted piano is traded and harmonized with Pavek's vintage synths, with everything sitting against a backdrop of slow moving strings and ambient electronics. According to @blommamusic, the end result "sounds like the neon lights shining on a chamber orchestra." The record is out now on all digital platforms, and we'd love for you to give it a spin ! 

Stream or buy 'BLOMMA' on Spotify, AppleMusic, Bandcamp, etc : https://orcd.co/blomma

Aurora

BLOMMA - Aurora

Interpersonal

Composer/Pianist specializing in modern classical piano/strings/synths.

License music below!

Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/artists/madron/44274
Artlist: https://artlist.io/artist/397/philip-daniel-zach?search=philip-daniel-zach
Musicvine: https://musicvine.com/browse/artist/philip-daniel