Today I’m introducing you to composer and piano player Macgray. Macgray had an early introduction to music staring by playing the flute. Later he went on to play the piano; both playing jazz and classical music.

The track Oblivion is taken from the album Journey to the Dawn witch was released early January of 2020.

Tell us something about your track Oblivion!
In the story which is “Journey to the Dawn”, “Oblivion” is a moment of passage, a transition. When you learn to forget the good, the bad and even yourself or more precisely an image of yourself. Something new arises which sometimes reveals something more than the vision of the past. The song is about this moment, when you forget the past and reveal to yourself who you are. I think that most of us would like to stay more in the present or to go back to it. Letting go of everything and just be there. Oblivion, for me, is the transition I need.

Thank you very much for sharing this with us!

For more information, please go to any of these following pages;
Facebook / Instagram / Website / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to German composer, producer and piano player Maves, or Maurice Lessing, from Dortmund. Maurice makes both EDM music and piano music professionally and uses the moniker Maves for the piano parts.

Playing the piano is so special for me because I can play my feelings very directly. Sometimes I play 5 hours without a break because I have so many ideas.

The track Cry was released as a single on the 31st of January 2020.

Tell us something about your track Cry!
I composed CRY in a time that was not very easy for me. I wanted to express my sad feelings in a very direct and simple way. That’s why Cry is not a difficult piece to play, it is rather difficult to express the feelings.

Thank you very much Maves!

For more information, please check out the following links:
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to the 53 year old French composer and piano player Pascal Langagne. Pascal makes compositions for films an commercials and started playing the piano about 48 years ago, and it has now been his full time job for the past 20 years.

The track Brume was released as a single in January of 2020. This version is however a reworked one of the original track taken from the album Au-delá des nuages which was releases back in 2018.

Tell us something about your track Brume!
I have a small dogs who wants to run in the country 2 times a day. One day when it was raining and foggy I’ve imagined the mood of this track. I’ve played piano at home and tried different things, different takes. And finally it’s a mix of 4 piano takes, I love to mix several keyboards or piano, to give that movement.

Thank you very much for sharing this with us Pascal!

For more information, please check out any of these following links:
Facebook / Instagram / Website / Spotify

Today I’m presenting you to Rick Gallagher Project. Rick is a composer based in the United States and has a history of being a jazz musician, composer and producer for the past 25 years.

My music is mostly on the mellow/relaxed/contemplative side and is at times jazz influenced and somewhat improvisational in nature.

The track Wait is released as a single but will also be featured on an upcoming album called Upright Sketches Vol 1.

Tell us something about your track Wait!
We all have moments of questioning, despair and heartache.  Try to be patient, listen and wait and the beauty of life will be revealed once more.”
Links

Thank you Rick for sharing this with us!

For more information, check out these following pages:
Facebook / Instagram / Website / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to a track by the danish composer and ambient master (Henrik) Lauge and ThePianoPlayer (and composer) Enzo Orefice from Naples in Italy.

The track Aftermath is released as a single, and came out mid January of 2020.

Tell us something about your track Aftermath!
Enzo: The curiosity to explore new sounds and new moods on which to play my piano melodies.  I composed this song as always on the piano.

Lauge: This track came about when exchanging ideas turned into a desire for collaboration. Aftermath captures the feel of a world standing completely still after a nuclear winter.

Thank you for sharing this with us!

For more information, check out these following pages:
Lauge:
Facebook / Spotify

Enzo:
Facebook / Twitter / Website / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to composer and songwriter Cheryl B. Engelhardt from New York in the United States. Cheryl has written music for films, ads and has also written score for about 60+ clips of College Humor (which I personally enjoy very much).

The song Earthshine will be out on February 7th, but can already be pre-ordered from Cheryls Bandcamp page; so please go ahead and pre-order!

Take me there!

Tell us something about your song Earthshine!
This song is special – I wrote it while at a residency in a tiny half-abandoned mountain town in Crete, Greece. The piano I had in a stone room has a beautiful sound that echoed around the stone room. There was an energy in the room as well as a peace. The song is designed to keep the mind present while finding that calm. The bells and the vocal effects, all completely organic when recorded, were altered to fill the track up, the way the space filled me up. You’ll hear low notes, those are piano strings that I plucked, altered as I edited the composition later. Everything you hear is simply a piano, a bell, or my voice. It reminds me that we are the source of our own power and our own light. Which is why the record is called “Luminary”.

Thank you for sharing this with us!

For more information, please go ahead and click any of these following links:
Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Website / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to another lovely song by Swedish pianist and composer Erik Slättberg based in Örebro. More about Erik can be found here!

The song Safe Here was released as a single on the 18th but is also featured on the compilation Uto’pians by Blue Spiral Records.

Tell us something about your song Here!
”Safe Here” was recorded together with other tracks last summer, were I happen to press record on one of these quite, rare and magic days where everything just clicks fine. The entire tune is an improvisation that happened just once, and where I did not try to project any forehand meaning, but where the meaning just happened by itself. It’s funny how I often create my most musical tracks in the mood of having no plan at all. You can here part of that jazzy kind of freedom where the parts are kind of the same but not as orderly as in most of the neoclassical music. Nonetheless, it reflects a very calm, light and meditative kind of emotion. It felt warm to me, which is why I named it the way I did. This track is released not only as a single, but also as a part of the collaboration album Uto’pians by Blue Spiral Records.

Thank you for sharing this with us Erik!

For more information about Erik and his music, check out these links!
Facebook / Homepage / Instagram / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to the San Diego based pianist, composer, producer and audio engineer John True. John has played piano since he was a toddler; he doesn’t even remember NOT playing the piano.

In 2020, I’m taking my skills with modern production and classical training and fusing them together to create my own take on piano composition

I actually don’t remember ever not playing the piano! But all that led me to a degree in piano performance and composition, and then into music production after I graduated.  , and I will be releasing a new collection of work each month throughout the year!

The track One is featured on his January EP – January (Piano Vol 1) on January 24th of 2020. 

Tell us something about your track One!
To be honest, I’m not sure I even have a clear idea of what this track is about! Whatever meaning it has though, I know it brings me to a meditative place when I play it, which is one of the reasons I’m doing this whole project. I wrote it mostly in one sitting in early December. It was the piece that made me decide to begin my 2020 piano project, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I wrote the piece at the piano, and once I had a good idea of what it needed to be, I sat down to record it into pro tools.

A few days later, I came back and added the production elements – the reversed delays, the shimmer reverbs, and some of the other effects you hear. That’s become my workflow for this entire piano project throughout the year – on one day I’ll sit down and compose the piece, then a few days later I’ll come back, listen to what I wrote, and do the editing, production, mixing, and mastering in that second sitting. It’s an efficient workflow that keeps thing moving, and helps me avoid the artistic second guessing that can happen when you start to over-analyze everything you’re doing!

Thank you very much for this John!

For more information, please check out these following links:
Facebook / Website / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to the composer and pianist Frank DeLange from the Netherlands. Frank was raised in a family with classical music, surrounded by piano music growing up.

the music that was in my head -the echoes of my childhood- needed a way to come out. This project is exactly doing that. I had to turn 46 before I had the courage to record it

The track San Vincenzo was released in January of 2020 as a single, but will also be part of an album in the near future.

Tell us something about your track San Vincenzo!
This is a composition about that one time – when I was very young- I spent the night on the Italian beach with my best friend, woke up in the middle of the night and heard the San Vincenzo church bells chiming in the distance. I was the only one awake and experienced a moment of blissful solitude. 

Thank you for sharing your music with us Frank!

For more information, please check out the following links:
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify