Under every emotion flows an undercurrent of thoughts.

For Bim. Happy Piano Day 2021.

Undercurrent

I suppose that it is inevitable for a writeup about a solo piano album to begin with an acknowledgment of the current state of affairs in the present classical music scene (a term I coined to balance out the "modern classical" and "contemporary classical" genres, which also signifies the act of being present during the act of listening). It's inevitable to admit the oversaturation of this style as composers and pianists all rush to jump on the bandwagon of the trend and get a piece of that much-coveted pie from the digital platform streaming revenues, no matter how small it is in the end. But it's also extremely essential to point out that not every solo piano album recorded in the night with close-mic'ed felted hammers gently caressing the strings conveys the emotion of its creator and connects us to his soul. All of the ones I've loved have been covered on here. But it is the playing of Otto A Totland that I cherish the most. From the delicate melodies to his beautiful playing, from the tastefully somber storytelling to the technical attention put in each recording, and finally from the overall delivery to the completely absorbing transfer of his mind to mine, through the keys and the fingers, that is what makes this Norwegian composer stand out among the rest. For this exclusive premiere, I have selected one of my favorite tracks from his upcoming album on Sonic Pieces, which happens to be the same one he played on my very own piano when he has visited London about two years ago (okay, so I'm a little bit biased towards that piece). Nevertheless, I invite you to close your eyes and listen and see if you can uncover that memory that seems to somehow remain forlorn.

Read more on this release here: https://hcdi.gs/Pago

Companion

Pago

TRACK PREMIERE : Otto A Totland - Pago

BON O BEAU

Where is my village?

Contribution to Piano Day 2017 by Vargkvint, through Feeder Recordings

Vargkvint - Regnsång

Recorded for Nils Frahm's Piano Day on 29th March 2019

Download of "Golden Heart" plus three bonus tracks @ https://polaroidnotes.bandcamp.com/album/golden-heart-ep

Bandcamp

Polaroid Notes - Golden Heart

'Moons Lost' is the second release leading up to Blurstem's debut LP. Blurstem is a piano-centric offshoot of Chris Bartels' ambient moniker @elskavon.

Stream/download: http://smarturl.it/blurstem-moons-lost

Anthem Falls Music
www.anthemfallsmusic.com
www.instagram.com/chris_bartels
www.elskavon.com

Chris Bartels: piano
Alex Berglund: strings
Josh Leininger: electric guitar

Rosen Poem (electric guitar): https://tinyurl.com/y6ptbpb6
Alex Berglund (strings): http://alexberglund.com/

Recorded mostly late at night while his family is asleep, Blurstem is a piano-centric offshoot project of Elskavon, Minneapolis composer Chris Bartels' ambient moniker.

Bartels went into a piano-writing frenzy in the fall of 2018, when Blurstem was birthed, and decided to pursue collaborations with over half of the debut album, releasing September 2019.

Moons Lost collaborative input was from close to home. Friends Alex Berglund and Josh Leininger (Rosen Poem) also reside in Minneapolis. Alex, a former co-worker of Bartels at a commercial music house, provided the many layers of strings - violin, viola, cello.

Stream / Buy

Blurstem - Bellingham (feat. Alex Berglund)

New Era (Piano Day 2019)

houdini

Track taken from the upcoming album 'Hearts full of sorrow, souls full of hope, we look to the west...'

www.fluidaudio.bigcartel.com

Hearts full of sorrow, souls full of hope, we look to the west

infinite blanket

e & i - infinite blanket

After a widely positive reception for her debut full-length album Hav, Swedish multifaceted artist Vargkvint is returning in January with a collection of high-calibre reworks made by some of her favourite creators. This time, she has enlisted the talent of Tangerine Dream member Hoshiko Yamane, nostalgia maestro Tim Linghaus, our record label’s favourite duo Klangriket and Sjors Mans, and cinematic-pop artist Bonander, to name a few, to completely reinterpret the seven tracks from her previous release. The new album also includes a bonus alternate version of Drivved, uniquely available through Bandcamp.

Hav Reimagined is set to release on the 22nd of January, with all proceeds going to The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation that develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

Where is my village?

Riverse

Recent comments

Patros15

Tom Blankenberg

Isidor

music on the menu

Related tracks