Photo Credit: Roberto Graziano Moro
The Lumineers’ co-founder, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites released today his anticipated solo debut album Piano Piano. Available everywhere through Dualtone Records (an Entertainment One Company) in the U.S./Canada and Mercury KX for the rest of the world, it’s an achingly gorgeous collection of intimate, piano-centric instrumental songs that Fraites has been working on for the better part of a decade. Stream or purchase Piano Piano HERE.
“When I was a kid my mom bought me a cassette tape of Beethoven sonatas from a department store called Bradlees, in my hometown of Ramsey, NJ,” stated Fraites. “I listened to that tape every night going to sleep. I’d fall asleep to Side A and the next night turn it over and listen to Side B. I repeated that for years until the tape was worn down. I hope you can find something in my album like I did with that cassette tape.”
Emotionally direct yet profoundly revealing, Fraites’ songwriting reaches into deeply personal spaces with moving grace and stark elegance. It retains the folk-inspired melodicism so familiar from his work in The Lumineers, yet transports it into a more classically sophisticated setting. In addition to piano, Fraites plays nearly every instrument on the album, including guitar, drums, synths, and programming. It was co-produced and engineered by David Baron (Jade Bird, Vance Joy, Shawn Mendes) and features other collaborators such as The Lumineers’ violinist Lauren Jacobson, cellists Rubin Kodheli and Alex Waterman, and Macedonia’s 40-piece FAME’S Orchestra.
Piano Piano follows the release of singles “Tokyo,” “Maggie,” “Possessed,” “An Air That Kills,” and “Chilly.” Fraites teamed up with acclaimed videographer/marine biologist Paul Nicklen and SeaLegacy for a powerful video set to “Maggie,” featuring stunning footage of Alaska’s Bristol Bay, meant to draw attention to the controversial Pebble Mine, which has since been successfully blocked by the Army Corps of Engineers. The accompanying video for “An Air That Kills” shows footage captured by the award-winning cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg, the world’s leading pioneer in high-end time-lapse and macro cinematography, filmed in Hokkaido, Japan, Big Sur, California, New Zealand, Iceland, and Tahiti.
In partnership with Calm, Fraites released two other new songs exclusively through the meditation app titled “Felt” and “Pluck.” He also worked with the British music technology company Spitfire Audio for an Originals program called “Firewood Piano.” The audio program is based on the eccentric upright piano that Fraites primarily used to record Piano Piano, nicknamed “Firewood” after his piano tuner’s subjectively frank assessment of the instrument’s quality. Watch a preview of “Firewood Piano” HERE.
The hushed beauty of Fraites’ songs and the striking intimacy of the album’s recordings make for a radiantly moving experience throughout Piano Piano. “I wanted listeners to feel almost as if they’re sitting on the piano bench next to me,” stated Fraites. “I love the idea of communicating with people through music alone, which can sometimes say more than words ever could.”
Track List:
01) Departure
02) Chilly
03) Tokyo
04) Maggie
05) Nearsighted
06) Dreams
07) Possessed
08) An Air That Kills
09) Simplest of Matters
10) Pyromaniac
11) Arrival
12) Lullaby (Bonus Track – Vinyl Only)
