A selection of tracks from Piano Day 2021 arranged for continuous listening. 

https://www.pianoday.org/ 

Photo by omoplato on Unsplash

Piano Day MMXXI

theatre

Regulations*

As always, ready for piano day
here goes my track

#pianoday2021 #pianoday

Piano Day 2021

Lone

"Struck" is a small collection of tracks prominently featuring my antique upright piano, brought together to celebrate Piano Day 2021.

...

Early in 2020 I found a listing on Facebook Marketplace for a free antique upright piano. If you've ever been in the market for a secondhand piano you might notice that many people are just giving them away for free, mainly because they are cumbersome and costly to move. "Free" is a bit misleading.

So I found myself the proud owner of a genuine Cable Company of Chicago upright piano made in 1904. Shortly thereafter, a sweeping pandemic took over the world and I suddenly found myself more acquainted with this lovely antique. It has been over a year since I've picked it up, and couldn't be happier. Noisy hammers, a stuck Low A, a damper pedal that works on almost all of the notes. It has character. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate it into my music. it has changed how I compose and experience music.

I wanted to participate in Piano Day this year because I feel like I finally have something to contribute. This is my musical offering and I hope you love it. Please leave a comment!

~Michael Southard (Time Rival)

Everything Is Gone

Monday, March 29th, is the official and long-anticipated Piano Day. What exactly is this annual worldwide event, and why is it special? Started only six years ago, in 2015, Piano Day began as an idea by the German pianist and composer Nils Frahm. Since the instrument has 88 keys, the “festivities” begin on the 88th day of the year, with many performances, exclusive releases, and workshops taking place around the globe. In the days of the current pandemic, many may find some solace in the online events, joined in by an extensive roster of artists ranging from contemporary classical to electronic music genres. 

There is much music to choose from – see the official schedule of all the events on painoday.org – and for this one lonely voice in a torrent of music, I decided to share a few of my favourite tracks, videos, and EPs. Check out the entire Piano Day feature on headphonecommute.com, meanwhile, enjoy this exclusive premiere of a longingly beautiful piece, titled "Inside" from Muriël Bostdorp's latest 4-track EP, coming out on Pianoramix imprint on April 2nd.

"This EP was written in the first period of the pandemic. I can remember the feeling I got the day we went into the first lockdown. It is difficult to describe in words, as I am not a writer or a poet. My words for these overwhelming emotions can be found within the pieces of this EP. Every track is a facet. ‘Save Me’ is not a cry for help, although it sounds like that. ‘Save Me’ is a call for hope – hope for different times, more self-conscious and new beginnings."

Save Me

Inside

TRACK PREMIERE : Muriël Bostdorp - Inside

Written & performed by Greg Haines
Published by Erased Tapes Music

Greg Haines – 183 Times

A team of experts, including scientists and musicians, has created a new way to explore the images and data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The first two tracks map the prismatic landscapes of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula as well as two views of the Southern Ring Nebula. A third track plays the notes of a transmission spectrum, which graphs the atmospheric characteristics of hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. All allow listeners to pick out key features and experience the data in a new way.

Southern Ring Nebula - Mid-Infrared

Southern Ring Nebula — NIRCam

Southern Ring Nebula - Side By Side

Cosmic Cliffs — Stars

Cosmic Cliffs - Complete Sonification

Weeping Willow

Shift

Inititate is a unique track. Its very organic piano playing enables to forget any technical stand point in order to focus on the feelings it conveys. This track is an attempt to translate the feeling of willpower at the genesis of everything we create: an ode to the first impulse.

Instar

Initiate

Olafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm - Live in Berlin - 2011

Hammers is Sofi's first song to ever be released in 2020. It is an ode to her piano and the relationship they've had for more than 10 years.
#pianoday2021

Hammers

Piano Day 2021 sees Nils Frahm surprise the world with his Erased Tapes debut. Wait, what? How? Anyone who has seen the trail blazing sonic pioneer live will know Nils likes to deadpan a joke. Graz is in fact the first studio album he recorded for the label back in 2009, that somehow remained a secret… until now.

Stream, download & pre-order Graz now (CD & LP shipping on May 21): https://idol.lnk.to/Graz 

"A grand piano is a particular kind of beast to play, which will only sound refined and beautiful if you command a strong control over the keyboard. Each slight change in touch results in a different timbre, which will be rewarded when used wisely and will be your trapdoor when you fail to hold the horses. I remember how I had to squeeze the music out of the grand piano in the Graz sessions, and while I enjoy listening to it now, I kept these recordings secret for a good while – they sound like a much younger version of myself to me, and a lot of the musical expressions from that time would be impossible for me to replicate today. Close friends whom I had shared the record with reminded me of it once in a while, and some of the pieces got released in other versions on the album Spaces in the meantime. But somehow, any piece of music you create wants to get out there in order to find you, which is why I’m glad to share this beast with you and do hope you enjoy listening to it too!
Love, Nils"

Graz

Hammers (ft. Peter Broderick)

Stream & pre-order

Nils Frahm - Hammers (ft. Peter Broderick)

Time Rival is the ambient music project of Illinois native Michael Southard.  At a young age, Michael became interested in music production and recording engineering, creating countless albums of esoteric, cross-genre music.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in music business from Southern Illinois University in 2007 and has continued honing his production and songwriting skills.
The music of Time Rival is ambient in nature and has been described as “music for dreaming”.  Mostly piano and synthesizers heavily effected by computer wizardry.  It’s generally warm and pleasant with tiny hints of tension.  Music to help the listener decompress and provoke deep thought in this digital age.

Michael also creates technical, beat driven electronic music under the name @SupplyFi, is one half of the duo @Amberglow-3, and collaborates regularly with @runninginslowmotion and @belial-pelegrim.  He is a co-owner @triplicaterecords,  has a monthly radio show on Threadsradio.com and curates mixes and playlists for TRIP FM
For inquiries: msouthard.music@gmail.com