Esja Hania Rani

• 1 Rani: Eden 04:55
• 2 Rani: Sun 05:23
• 3 Rani: Hawaii Oslo 04:16
• 4 Rani: Pour trois 03:14
• 5 Rani: Biesy 04:16
• 6 Rani: Luka 05:07
• 7 Rani: Glass 04:31
• 8 Rani: Today It Came 02:34
• 9 Rani: Esja 04:21
• 10 Rani: Now, Run 06:32
• Total Runtime 45:09

Info for Esja

Erstes Album der Pianistin - melodisch, harmonisch und hypnotisierend. Die Pianistin und Komponistin Hania Rani lebt zwischen Warschau, ihrer Wahlheimat, und Berlin, wo sie studiert hat und nach wie vor häufig arbeitet. "Glass" heißt die erste Single ihres Albums "Esja", das die Polin als ihr "erstes richtiges Statement" als Künstlerin bezeichnet: "Schluss mit dem Versteckspiel hinter 'Kollaborationen' und irgendwelchen 'Projekten'. Ja, endlich geht es zum allerersten Mal einfach nur um mich, so wie ich bin". Aufgenommen in Hania Ranis Wohnung in Warschau - ihr Klavierzimmer hat eine ausgezeichnete Akustik; sie benutzt den Raum inzwischen als (Kunst-)Studio sowie als eine Art Labor für Klangexperimente - sowie im Studio ihres Freundes Bergur Þórisson in Reykjavik, vereint "Esja" insgesamt 10 melodische Vignetten aus ihrer Feder. Sinnlich, gefühlvoll, rhythmisch, atmosphärisch, offen und doch harmonisch, betörend und hypnotisch, wecken ihre Kompositionen ein Gefühl, das die Grenzen von Raum und Zeit für einen Moment auszuradieren scheint. Der schillernde Vorbote "Glass" wirkt in der Tat zerbrechlich wie Glas; auch die vielen Spiegelungen und Farbschattierungen von reflektierendem Glas hört man deutlich heraus.

Hania Rani

Hania Rani
is an award-winning pianist, composer and singer. Her debut album ‘Esja’, a beguiling collection of solo piano pieces on Gondwana Records was released to international acclaim in 2019, earning Rani four prestigious Fryderyk Awards including “Best Debut Album”, “Best Alternative Album” and “Best New Arrangement”, in recognition from the Polish music industry’s very own Grammys.

Her follow-up sophomore album, the expansive, cinematic, ‘Home’, was released in 2020 on Gondwana Records and finds Rani expanding her palate: adding vocals and subtle electronics to her music as well as being accompanied by bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak. The album earned Rani another notable accolade of “Best Composer”, a further acknowledgement from Fryderyk and with Rough Trade including it in their essential “Albums of the Year”.

Hania’s third solo album ‘Ghosts‘ was released on October 6th 2023, and features Patrick Watson, Ólafur Arnalds and Duncan Bellamy (from Portico Quartet) and was made with the help of Viktor Orri Árnason (string arrangements) and Greg Freeman (mixing). ‘Ghosts’ was mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios.

“With ‘Ghosts’ I wanted to start something from scratch, picking tools and stories I was not familiar with, but which felt dear to me. ‘Ghosts’ is a story about life and death, light and darkness, real and unreal. It’s an attempt to touch ultimate qualities and craft my own mythologies; to face fears, take a deep dive into things that scare me but also seduce me subconsciously. ‘Ghosts’ collects all of these things together, mixing the past, present and the future into a new sound of mine.”

Newly announced ‘Nostalgia‘ is Rani’s first ‘real’ live album, recorded in a place of deep personal and artistic significance: the Polish Radio studios in Warsaw. Through Nostalgia, Hania presents the studios in her own perspective,as somewhere unique and unknown. A place of work, but something more. A place of ghosts and hidden meanings, of inspiration and mystery. By juxtaposing her music with evocative analogue photographs of the studios, Rani provides a closer look at her artistic journey – from composing to performance and recording – all seen through her own eyes. For Rani, it is an experimental step – the first time she brings her sonic and visual worlds together in a combined presentation.

Booklet for Esja