Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s début Englabörn was originally recorded and released in 2001 as the soundtrack to a theatre play by Hávar Sigurjónsson. Written for a string quartet, keyboard, percussion and electronics, Englabörn is a quiet and soul stirring piece of work which launched the composer’s international career ... [Continue Reading]
Modern Classical
Murcof x Vanessa Wagner: Statea
From Rennes in Brittany, Vanessa Wagner is a classically trained pianist who has recorded the piano repertoire of Franz Shubert, Robert Shuman, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin, Maurice Ravel among others as well as the music of contemporary French composer Pascal Dusapin. Born in Tijuana, Mexico and now ... [Continue Reading]
Shida Shahabi: Homes / Shifts
Based in Stockholm, Shida Shahabi is a pianist and composer born to Iranian parents who fled the Iraq war in the 1980s to settle in Sweden. Written over the course of a year while moving from one apartment to another, Shida Shahabi’s intimate début solo piano record [amazon text=Homes&asin=B07F9G2JSR] was released on 19 ... [Continue Reading]
Midori Hirano: Invisible Island
Originally born in Kyoto, Japan and now based in Berlin, Midori Hirano is a pianist, composer and sound artist who has been blending electronic loops and layers with minimal acoustic piano since 2006. In parallel to her piano-based activities, the musician has also been exploring experimental and ambient soundscapes under the ... [Continue Reading]
Hania Rani: Esja
I have a strong desire to communicate something, through my music, to the people […] I would like to find people who in the depths of their souls feel the same way as I do. That can only be achieved through the greatest artistic sincerity in every detail of music, from the minutest technical aspects to the most secret depths. I ... [Continue Reading]
Félicia Atkinson: The Flower and the Vessel
When I record voice, I open to pages randomly, whether from books I’ve written or books written by others. I only do one or two takes with voice, picking words from those books like I would to make a spontaneous, wild bouquet of flowers […] I use a lot of cut-ups in that way. Playing with found language allows me to isolate ... [Continue Reading]
Vyvienne Long: A Lifetime of High Fives
The album is about the struggle, the constant (f*g) struggle of life, most works of art are, in some way. There’s rage, escapism and a lot of tenderness. Vyvienne Long is a cellist, pianist, singer, songwriter, composer and arranger based in Co. Wicklow. It has been nine long years since the musician released her début LP ... [Continue Reading]