Happy Piano Day — to mark this year’s 88th day and as an acknowledgement of these unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, Piano Day founder, pianist and producer Nils Frahm releases a surprise album of eight solo piano pieces, titled Empty — out today.
Conceived of just before Nils broke his thumb and composed the similarly intimate solo piano album Screws, Empty is a soothing vessel of eight simple and serene pieces originally recorded as the music to a short art film he shot with his friend and film director Benoit Toulemonde. Drifting through emotions from the stark and sobering opener First Defeat, to the gently euphoric No Step On Wing and the contemplative but hopeful closer Black Notes, with its poignant minute of silence, Empty is a comforting score for these turbulent times.
“When I came back from the hospital with a broken thumb and listened to the recordings, I felt they were unfinished. I decided to put them aside and started to work on my small album, Screws.
Many many other notes of the piano have been struck since these days, and before we all forget about this, I thought it would be a good moment to share these lullabies with you. I hope they help you stay all strong and calm in these days of solitude – despite the hardship, we can discover introspection and reflection unexpectedly. Who knows what it is good for.
Much love, Nils”
Piano Day 2020 also sees the acclaimed All Encores album released as one 3LP set. Previously only available on CD and digitally in October, All Encores encompassed the three Encores EPs as one full length featuring 80 minutes of music, orbiting his masterful 2018 album All Melody.
This is available in all good record stores around the world. Getting behind your favourite independent music supplier has never been as important as now, so let's support our local stores via online mailorder.
Stay safe and enjoy the music.
· stream and download Empty
· order All Encores on 3LP · CD · DL
· listen to the official Piano Day playlist curated by Nils
· listen to the official Soundcloud playlist