Today I’m introducing you to the track Reactions by the composer and piano player Nick Vereshchak, based in Toronto, Canada. Nick has played the piano since the age of eight and was mainly interested in learning by ear. Nick started composing about six years ago and started to take his composing more seriously three years ago.

The track Reactions was released as a single on the 23rd of September, 2020, and will also be part of an upcoming EP.

Tell us something about your track Reactions!
I wrote Reactions in one sitting – it was a very impulsive piece. I found myself thinking about the concept of reactions a lot; they’re often almost impossible to control, and they can span a wide range of emotions. As someone who experiences anxiety quite often, I realized I was reacting in unhelpful ways to a lot of things that were happening in my life, and sometimes that was detrimental to the people close to me. I wrote this piece as a way to sort of sit with those feelings, and focus on getting out of the initial reaction phase of whatever I was dealing with at the time. 

Thanks for sending this track in, Nick!

Today I’m introducing you to the Italian composer Luca Fattoretto from Veneto and his track Family. Luca is a big jazz music fan but has experience in many other genres.

I like to call myself a curious and eclectic composer. I don’t have a precise sound, I try to let myself be carried away by the music and I hope to be able to convey my emotions.

The track Family was released as a single on the 27th of august, 2021.

Tell us something about your track Family!
The song “Family” speaks of childhood seen from the eyes of the adult, but it does not want to be a regret, rather I tried to give a sense of sweet nostalgia for a beautiful moment of life lived with carefree.

Thanks for sharing this with us Luca!

Today I’m introducing you to the track Plagwitz by the German composer and piano player Stiehler. Stiehler started playing the piano at the age of six and later studied piano at the HMT Leipzig. After the encouragement of other musicians around him, Stiehler wrote and recorded his first piano album.

The track Plagwitz was released as a single om the 10th of September, 2021, but will also be part of an upcoming album.

Tell us something about your track Plagwitz!
The song is dedicated to my adopted home. Plagwitz is a district in the west of Leipzig that is characterized by the colorful flourishing of the art scene. In a way, it is the new Berlin. Between rough industrial buildings on one side and lush green spaces and waterways on the other, there are numerous studios, cafés, and small stores here.I’ve lived and worked here for over 10 years, and founded the artists’ house “Egolauthaus” together with Antonio Lucaciu. I run my studio here, where I also record and produce my solopiano music. 

Thank you very much for sending in this song! Looking forward to the album!

Today I’m introducing you to the German composer and piano player Juliano and his track Trees of Gold. Juliano started playing the piano at the age of 15, but started out as a accordion player before that. He started out by rewriting arrangements of well-known songs for orchestra at an early age, and later went on to write his own tunes.

The track Trees Of Gold was released as a single on August 27th of 2021. 

Tell us something about your track Trees of Gold!
Trees Of Gold was inspired by a walk through the forest. When you are walking through the forest, it often seems as if time stands still. The peace that nature radiates makes us forget everyday life. And when the sun’s rays shine between the leaves, there is a wonderful play of light and it seems as if nature begins to dance. I wanted to catch this moment in music.  

Thank you for this piece of music Juliano!

Today I’m introducing you to a brand new track by the Russian bord, but Switzerland based, composer and piano player Andrei Poliakov. Andrei plays the piano to helt people calm down, and has done so since he was four years old.

The track I Felt was released as a single on the 1st of October, 2021.

Tell us about your track I Felt!
It’s a calm and peaceful music with sparse ambient elements, composed and recorded in Switzerland in the summer of 2021 “I Felt” title is a metaphor for a felted piano and the feelings of a person at the same time. Because in our dynamic, aggressive, and everchanging world there is very little space to stop, breathe, and contemplate. Our feelings and emotions get suppressed and hidden while our most deep and intimate thoughts vanish before reaching the edge of our consciousness. The sounds of a felted piano awake our inner self giving us this breathing space – so we recognise our feelings, contemplate the beauty of the outside world, and enjoy the freedom inside ourselves.

Thank you very much for this track Andrei!

Today I’m introducing you to the track Lucie by the Canadian based composer and piano player Wings for Louise, which you can read all about in this Behind the piano article. Wings for Louise’s real name is Charly Martin, and even though he is based in Montreal, he was born in France.

The track Lucie is taken from the EP Lights, Slow Places which was release on the 24th of September, 2021.

Tell us something about your track Lucie!
The first track Lucie is named after my girlfriend, who was at my sides every single day during the lockdown. Lucie and her smile were constant shining lights during this odd moment locked down in Hochelaga, a working-class neighbourhood in Montreal with which I have a love/hate relationship. During the album’s creation process, I had to escape myself from everyday life and its stresses, I did a lot of meditation, during which, my mind often travelled to Bages, a small fishing village in the south of France, next to Narbonne, the small town where I grew up. I realized what the common point between the present and the places where my mind drifted to had in common was their slowness, that’s why I named the third track Lent, which means slow in French. 

Thank you very much for this track Charly!

Today I’m introducing you to the American composer and piano player Jeff Miller, aka. Chamberfield. Jeff lives in northern California and is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He started playing the piano at the age of 12 and started recording his own compositions in his early teens.

The track Aquarelle was released as a single on the 10th of September, 2021, and will also be part of an EP later on.

Tell us something about your track Aquarelle!
This track was originally inspired by some of Van Gough’s lesser-known watercolor paintings, but I also liked the idea of water and colors dancing together like what you see in a reflection. Recorded on a felted piano with some tape saturation, reverb, and subtle delay for ambience. 

Thank you very much for this Jeff!

Today I’m presenting you with the track Downstream from the composer and piano player Matthew Paull from New Zeeland. You can read all about Matthew and his music in this Behind the piano post. Matthew is now located in Berlin.

The track Downstream was released as a single on the 9th of September, 2021.

Tell us something about your track Downstream!
This track began as a bit of a musical picture, I had a picture I took down by the river where I grew up, and I tried to write a piece of music to it, hence the name ‘Downstream’. At this river it’s quite common to float down it on a rubber ring, so I had that in mind with the left-hand bass notes, as if someone was bobbing along the river. The cover art is based on that same photo I took.

Thanks for this Matthew!

Today I’m presenting you with another track by the dutch composer and piano player Jacco Wynia, which you can read all about in this Behind the piano post. Jacco started playing the piano at the age of eight and has since then moved around in the world but is now back in the Netherlands.

The track From a dream was released as a single on the 10th of September, 2021.

Tell us something about your track From a dream!
This music literally came from a dream. At the start of 2021 I was on a retreat in a wooden house in the open fields. Lots of instruments, lots of space, and lots of time were there with me. I was making time free to sleep well, and to let the states of sleep and dreams tell me new sorts of things. With time, slowly I got more and more messages in my sleep. Sometimes they made not any sense, but just being aware of the things that happened in my sleep already was something special to experience. Often they learned me valuable lessons.

And then one day it happened: A full bit of music started to play in my dream. I had been aware of some sounds before, but now it was of a different kind: There was a dream where the music was actually saying something about the situation right there in the dream. I was aware and decided to wake up. As much as possible still in a dream state, I walked towards the piano, and between 03H till 05H I played and played. 

The result is this song: From a dream. Can you guess what the dream was about?

Thank you very much Jacco!

Today I’m presenting you to the German composer and piano player Kjell Sønksen, from Kiev, and his track Spaceless. Kjell first fell in love with the piano at the age of nine. Besides composing music for the piano he also makes orchestral works and film music.

The track Spaceless was released as a single on the 20th of august, 2021.

Tell us something about your track Spaceless!
My latest release “spaceless” is something to get lost into. For me the passion is all about the harmony. I recorded this tune with my eyes closed all the time to keep the focus on the indefinable of life. There’s a lack of space in this life for it, sometimes.

Thank you very much for this Kjell!