Today I’m introducing you to the track Where are you? by the Italian composer Mattia Greggio from Verona. At the age of six he convinced his parents to sign him up for piano classes by lying to them (intriguing!). It all worked out and he started to take piano classes shortly after.

The track Where are you? was released as a single on the 15th of may, 2020.

Tell us something about your track Where are you?!
“Where are you?, I can’t find you, but what am I really looking for?”.

This is a song that tries to reach the depth of our thoughts and our soul.  We are always looking for something, we spend our lives trying to achieve increasingly important target. Sometimes the road is easy, other times it is very difficult. Very often one fails. The important thing is not to lose yourself and always find yourself in everything we do every day. This will give us the strength to keep going and will help us overcome the obstacles that life places before us.

Thank you very much Mattia!

For more information, click on any of the following links:
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify

Today I’m introducing you to the track Soledad by the American composer, trumpet player and “jazz and music theory geek” from Providence, Rhode Island. Lolo had played the trumpet for twelve years and started playing the piano about four years ago.

always having played a melodic instrument, the opportunity to actually play around with chords and create full-sounding music by myself was intoxicating.  

The track Soledad was released as a single but is also featured on the Ep Make it count which was released on the 20th of may 2020.

Tell us something about your track Soledad!
Soledad is about being alone: how it can be lonely, bleak, comforting, and creative all at once. To reflect that, I wrote this song to play with different keys and moods: it sits in F#minor, F#major, and Gminor at points, and doesn’t have a solid meter except for a brief moment of 6/8 in the middle. 

Thank you Lolo for this amazing track!

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

Today I’m introducing you to the track Fading Memories by the Swiss composer Remo Roth. Remo grew up as the only child of a film music composer and was surrounded by the art early. At the age of seven he got his first piano, and fell in love with improvising.

The track Fading memories was released as a single on may 21st of 2020.

Tell us something about your track Fading Memories!
This song is the result of an improvisational session, quite some years back, when I wanted to explore some more classical aspects and was intrigued by the mystical nature of “Le Carnaval des animaux” by Camille Saint-Saëns. I then left the song laying around for years, occasionally playing it so I wouldn’t forget. In 2020, I finally decided to release it and re-recorded it with an additional part that I think provides a nice conclusion to this song.

Thank you Remo for sending me this track!

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

Today I’ä introducing you to drummer, pianist and composer Riccardo Chiaberta, located in London; but originally from Verbania in the north of Italy. He’s been living in London since 2015 and usually plays drums in different jazz constellations. In 2018 he released his first solo piano album.

Camden Town was released as a single on the 15th of may, 2020.

Tell us something about your track Camden town!
I wrote Camden Town remembering my first experience living in London for a few months in 2006. I was so excited about the city and the new life that it was so hard to fall asleep. At the same time, it has been a peaceful period and this feeling inspired me to write this calm and melancholic composition.

Thank you Riccardo for this track!

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

I have before introduced you to the Italian composer an piano player Gianluca Piacenza (check out the Behind the piano post here!). But today I’ll present to you his latest track; Once again!

Short introduction of Gianluca then! Gianluca works as a music producer at Red Couch Studio, and makes modern classical piano music. He’s academically trained on the piano but also enjoys experimenting with electronic elements.

The track Once again is released as a single, but will also be featured on the upcoming EP Felted which will be out in September of 2020.

Tell us something about your track Once again!
“Once Again” t’s a romantic and sad solo piano waltz composed to remember once again all the good we have lost in this terrific pandemic time. It’s a very delicate and emotional song dedicated to the wonderful people who helped us overcoming this difficult moment. A cry of pain and hope at the same time. 

Thank you very much for this Gianluca!

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

Today I’m introducing you to the American composer KeithTim Anderson from Franklin, TN, USA. KeithTim grew up in Wisconsin and took piano lessons from the age of five through college. He started writing more seriously in high school and released his first instrumental piano recording in October of 2018.

The track Where love is was released as a single on the 15th of may, 2020. It will also be featured on the album Dreams come true, which will be out in June of 2020.

Tell us something about your track Where Love is!
Where Is Love started out as just a “doodle” that I liked, and I wasn’t sure I could make it into a real song. But, as I continued composing, I was able to come up with several other sections of the piece to make it complete. After playing it again and again over a number of weeks, it gave me the feeling of a happy song about love between family and friends. I then found a verse in the Bible about love that said, “”Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” Proverbs 15:17 (King James Version). Another translation (New Living Translation) says this “A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.” Perfect, I thought. That’s exactly what this song is about — the type of joyful love that’s understood and felt in healthy relationships within families or between friends.

Thank you KeithTim for this wonderful track!

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

Today I’m introducing you to the composer and piano player Josué Parrilla. Josué was born in an Juan, Puerto Rico, lived in Texas for 5 years, and today is based in Valencia, Spain. He was introduced to music by a young age by his father who is a classical guitarist. Josué also plays the percussion and saxophone among other instruments.

The track From here to eternity was released as a single on the 2nd of may, and this is Josué’s first release on Spotify!

Tell us something about your track From here to eternity!
I tend to write music with a dramatic, imaginative character, be it just a melody or a dense sound design texture. What is special to me about this piece is that it is such a simple, naked musical theme, and it still seems to touch everybody who listens to it. I embrace this simplicity in these times more than ever. Sometimes there is a richness, a depth beyond this apparent simplicity, and that is what I hope to tap into with every piece of music I write, no matter how simple or complex. For this piece I called upon the beautiful playing of Israeli cellist Yoed Nir.

Thank you very much for sending me this track!

For more information and updates, check out these following links:
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify

Today I’m presenting you to the composer and piano player Hideyuki Hashimoto born in Osaka, Japan. I have previously written about the track Saki, which you can read more about here!

The track April was released as part of the EP with the same name, and came out on the 16th of may 2020.

Tell us something about your track April!
These are calm private recordings of April days.I played the upright piano in my room, at early morning.
I titled these April recordings “April”.
Most of its tracks are played by spontaneous improvisation.

Thank you for sending me this track!

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

Today I’m introducing you to the latest track by Brittish composer and pianist Philip Campbell from Nothers Ireland. I have previously written about Philip in this Behind the piano post. Check it out!

Music has always been a part of my life and I grew up playing piano, violin, guitar, bass and 5 string banjo.  4 years ago I heard Ludovico Einaudi perform for the first time and that inspired me to try to compose my own music.  Fast forward to May 2020 and I’ve just released my first ‘proper’ solo piano album ‘Songs For Elodie’.

The track ‘Sweet Dreams’ is the first track on his album ‘Songs For Elodie’ released on 8th May 2020.

Tell us something about your track Sweet Dreams!
The album is named after my first child ‘Elodie’ who was born on 7th January 2020 and the track ‘Sweet Dreams’ was actually borne out of trying to get her to go to sleep.  I was humming to her one night and the melody just seemed to come out.  I sat down at the piano that night and starting working on the track.  Unfortunately Elodie still seems to prefer the soothing sound of her mum’s singing at night as opposed to her dad’s musical compositions!  

Thank you Philip for this song, and the rest of the album!

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

Today I’m presenting you to another great track by the British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, which I have written about before here on the blog. You’ll find out everything about him on this Behind the piano post, so I won’t introduce him further here.

The track was released as a single on may the 3rd of 2020.

Tell us something about your track Skylark!
The inspiration for this track was the idea of a bird in flight, tweeting (in the non-twitter sense!) as it flies. Funnily enough, the solo violin was the last part of the track to be recorded. It is one of a series I am writing and releasing during lockdown because of the coronavirus epidemic, and the violin solo was recorded remotely by Matthew Denton. The rest of the instruments were recorded in my studio.

Thank you Thomas for once again sharing your music with us!

For more information, please check out any of the following links:
Website / Spotify