Arvid Holst - Fjer (2026)

Arvid Holst comes from Denmark and brings with him the most beautiful soundscapes. His new EP called Fjer is built on the slow and calm sounds of piano keys. But there is something more in those compositions, something just barely audible, yet quite profound.

I love when a good neoclassical work has some electronica hidden somewhere in the backgrounds. Holst chose the extreme version: the electronic additions are really barely audible, sitting somewhere in the background but still influencing the listeners like some sort of subliminal messages aimed at the audience to make their lives slightly more special. The 6 short compositions are subtle and calm, there is no place for hurry or releasing an overflow of energy. This is music for quiet relaxations, but one with a hint of mystery and darkness. 

Fjer costs 4 EUR (6 CAD).

Check: Frigear

Country: Denmark

Genre: piano soundscapes

Label: Moderna Records

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify:

Mike Lazarev - Gradiscence (2026)

Born in Ukraine, living in UK, this ambient producer with the looks of a hermit and the music sensibility of a poet made some more magic and enchanted it onto a short EP entitled Gradiscence.  His unhurried piano-based soundscapes create this kind of atmosphere that is as cozy as it is beautiful.

Not everything he makes gets to me, but this year's EP is another release after 2023's Sacred Tonalities that touched my spiritual side. There is something in the quality of those key sounds accompanied by next to nothing else that strikes me throughout the album. Every one of them feels like a finger touch on my spine, bringing an overwhelming feeling of warm if nostalgic embrace. The minimalism of the compositions really brings the piano sounds out so that they can charm the audience freely. Still, my favourite part of the EP is the one where the piano finally gives up and submerges into the moody, omnipresent electronic drone. Love it.

Gradiscence costs 6 EUR (5 GBP).

Check: Gradiscent

Country: Ukraine/UK

Genre: piano soundscape

Label: Bigo and Twigetti

Mike Lazarev - Sacred Tonalities (2023)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Green Horizon - Blessing (2026)

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but let me repeat myself: one of my favourite ambient pop artists comes from Taiwan and is definitely not well-known enough. Green Horizon has recently released her new EP on which she blends ambient pop with soft neoclassical tunes, everything honest, real and intimate.

The album is meant to be a blessing "for the forgotten, for the unloved, for those in pain" and I must say that the neoclassical beauty of the piano keys that sometimes lead the compositions here but sometimes also drown in peaceful noise are something that has to bring some kind of relief to anyone in need. It doesn't matter if the compositions are mostly piano soundscapes or if they are written around the airy vocals, all of them are beautiful.

I don't know much about the Asian poetry, but to me and to my layman heart, Green Horizon's lyrics feel very much like a rendition of poems form this part of the world. Honest and clearly indicating certain things, but still mysterious. Telling everything without telling everything. Which I guess is true to the music itself.

Blessing costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Path

Country: Taiwan

Genre: piano ambient pop

Green Horizon - The Place I Buried Memories (2021)

Green Horizon - 沉睡 (2017)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

Meierkord/Andersson - Passager (2025)

Two Scandinavian artists Henrik Meierkord and Pelle Andersson joined forces to create a gem of an album. This neoclassical release is as beautiful as it is dark and unnerving.

"A thoughtful soundscape filled with blackness and sadness but also streaks of light" is what the album is called on the artists' Bandcamp and there is no way to deny that. The piano keys come and go, making the world a bit more beautiful with each stroke. But they are only a counterbalance here. The slowness of the compositions and the gravity of strings in the backgrounds make the instrumental soundscapes ridiculously unnerving in the most attractive of ways.

And there is a good reason for the concept for the album as Andersson had to face the cruelty of serious sickness and all the emotions it brings with itself. Once again, the quote from the artists describes it in the best way possible, calling the album "passages between hope and warmth, despair and panic. Where light meets darkness, the beautiful the distorted".

Passager costs 7 EUR (72 SEK).

Check: Försjunken

Country: Sweden

Genre: dark neoclassical

Label: Ella Ruth instituten

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Henrik Meierkord):

:instagram (Henrik Meierkord):

:instagram (Pelle Andersson):

:soundcloud (Henrik Meierkord):

:spotify:

Julia Gjertsen & Gustav Davidsson - Wandering Mind, Drifting Weather (2025)

When two Scandinavian neoclassical artists come together to create a beautiful soundscape, it almost never disappoints. This time the Norwegian pianist and the Swedish trombonist charm not only with the sheer quality of the music but also with the a new and exciting (at least to me) match of instruments.

I'm not a fan of trumpet and similar instruments in music. I can't describe exactly what I dislike in those, but with some exception I tend to avoid trumpet-led compositions. And yet this album sounds so perfect! Especially that Gustav Davidsson manages to create melancholic sounds on the trombone without sounding too on the nose or even cringey. That's why it works so well with the subtle piano melodies that play the role of lively yet atmospheric backgrounds. 

As it is the case with many Scandinavia artists, Gjertsen and Davidsson are inspired by the weather in their countries that can be especially picturesque. Judging by the track titles, those days were very much Scandinavian-like: melancholia-inspiring and slow. If that was the case, the album makes a perfect soundtrack for them.

Wandering Mind, Drifting Weather costs 6 EUR (5 GBP).

Check: Black Cloud

Country: Norway/Sweden

Genre: trumpet-led neoclassical

Label: whitelabrecs

Julia Gjertsen & Juha Mäki-Patola - Dive (2023)

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Julia Gjertsen):

:instagram (Julia Gjertsen):

:instagram (Gustav Davidsson):

:spotify:

Øystein Skar - Hem (2025)

The Norwegian pianist, most known for his role in the synthpop band Highasakite, Øystein Skar have released his solo debut via Moderna Records and the next sentences are probably very easy to predict: it's moody, it's atmospheric and it's the Norwegian landscape translated into piano notes.

The album is said to "merge the lyrical beauty of piano with the dynamic energy of electronic music, resulting in a fusion that is both innovative and compelling", but I have to say that I hear mostly the former. Hem, I'm sure it's not a coincidence that the title means "home" as the image of Norway is quite vivid in his music, at least in my ears, is all about slow, subtle piano compositions. There are parts where the faster, jazzy part of Skar's music education is audible, but it's rare. And yes, I'm happy they are. I'm here for the ambient music played on piano keys.

Hem costs 8 EUR (12 CAD).

Check: Ljos 

Country: Norway

Genre: piano soundscape

Label: Moderna Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Julia Gjertsen & Juha Mäki-Patola - Dive (2023)

While known for collaborating in the past, for Julia Gjertsen and Juha Mäki-Patola, Dive makes the first longer (although not very long) album made together. The piano sounds from Norway and the electronic soundscapes from Finland make a stunning whole together.

The result of the collaboration can be described as beautiful "glimpse(s) of melancholic and emotive piano melodies mixed together with lush and ambient textures". Those are inspired by the beauty of the Scandinavian nature with the titles of the compositions referring to specific aspects they want to focus on. While the central part of this music certainly is the piano, its beauty is not all here. From my perspective, it works even better than it would in an empty space with the darker notes provided by the super subtle electronica, making the compositions include both the beauty and the sadness.

Dive costs 3.5 EUR (3 GBP).

Check: When the Birds Start to Leave

Country: Norway/Finland

Genre: piano neoclassical

Label: bigo & twigetti

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Julia Gjertsen):
:facebook (Juha Mäki-Patola):
:official (Julia Gjertsen):

:instagram (Julia Gjertsen):

:instagram (Juha Mäki-Patola):

:spotify:

Ole-Bjørn Talstad - Ferd (2023)

The Norwegian pianist and composer Ole-Bjørn Talstad released his debut album via Moderna Records last month. Ferd is filled with delicate piano compositions that make your mind roam freely for those 20 minutes.

The album's title refers to the journey through life that every human being has to attempt. With his piano compositions, the artist expresses the more hopeful and optimistic view on this journey (quite unlike what I would consider the average take in Scandinavian music), with his notes saying that "we've all suffered some hardship, but together we can lift each other up and move on to better days". And so the music here is far from being melancholic: the compositions are calm but also lively and quite high-paced. I appreciate that, but being a sad guy myself, I still like the most melancholic ones on the short album.

Ferd costs 5.5 EUR (8 CAD).

Check: Moltys

Country: Norway

Genre: piano neoclassical

Label: Moderna Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Tomoyoshi Date - 438Hz As It Is, As You Are [​あ​る​が​ま​ま​、​あ​な​た​の​ま​ま​に​] (2022)

Although not that long ago Tomoyoshi Date was present on this blog with an album created together with Stijn Huwels, last year's 438Hz As It Is, As You Are [​あ​る​が​ま​ま​、​あ​な​た​の​ま​ま​に​] is only his third solo album since 2008. 

The music here is built upon the beautiful, though not extremely melodic sounds of piano keys. This is more an ambient recording played on a real instrument than your average neoclassical piece. The compositions are filled with delicate noise and subtle fuzziness, but the piano is definitely the main player here. This slow, moody music is a real band-aid on a bruised soul, but it was created with a particularly interesting idea in mind, as the artist describes, it's meant to have "the listener adjust the pitch at the desired speed according to the mood and frequency of [them] at that time". For me, it works at the melancholy level.

438Hz As It Is, As You Are [​あ​る​が​ま​ま​、​あ​な​た​の​ま​ま​に​] costs 6 EUR.

Stijn Hüwels + Tomoyoshi Date - 遠き火、遠き雲’ ​(​A Distant Fire​,​ A Distant Cloud) (2021)

Check: 光 Hikari (45 rpm)

Country: Brazil/Japan

Genre: piano ambient

Label: laaps

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Dérives - Ferae seves (2022)

It's been almost three months since this album was released, but I couldn't not mention it on this blog. For the French band of Dérives, Ferae seves is the debut release, but I adore it and it's going to be one of my favourite post-rock releases of the year.

In the post-rock genre I especially like piano-led music and the darker version of the genre. And the French artists do both at the same time. Their compositions not only "include" piano sounds, they are built upon them. Yet, it's not only about piano's beauty, it's about the melancholia, sadness and anxiety that it brings to the music. And when the audience is occupied by dark thoughts, the heavy and crushingly overwhelming guitars come to play. What is important is that the band take their time to properly develop the track, as in Mormal, the album's longest track, the instrumental intro gets more and more quiet only to shock the listener with extremely loud and satisfying, piano-infused finish. 

Ferae seves costs 8 EUR.

Check: Mormal

Country: France

Genre: piano-led dark post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Glaston - I Am Whole (2022)

They make music since 2014, their debut album appeared in 2017, but it's only now that Glaston released their second album ever. The Swiss band brings post-rock and neoclassical music extremely close together and this makes I Am Whole something to have your ear engaged by for sure.

This is a pretty unique approach to post rock, I must say. Saying that it is led by the piano sounds is definitely not an exaggeration: the very classical piano keys are omnipresent here and decide the pace and the mood the music takes. And more often than not, it is surprisingly chill and relaxed pace and mood: the artists are concerned with the piano's beauty while guitars and drums mostly accompany this main actor. SO perhaps a neoclassical post-rock would be a fitting label for the Swiss band's music. There are cracks on this image that appear from time to time, as in Rotbuch where the guitars create very unnerving soundscape toward the end of the track, but the overall feeling is that the louder guitars still sit in the piano's shadow.

This is the way, a very jazzy way if I can add, the band decided to go to take the audience on a "journey of exploration, tapping deeply into emotions and feelings within". That's why more often than not, the music here feels calmer and more self-reflective than I would assume judging by the singles. It's an interesting surprise and I must say that it takes a while to appreciate this long album, but it's worth it.

I Am Whole costs 9 EUR.

Check: Rotbuch

Country: Switzerland

Genre: piano-led post-rock

Label: A Thousand Arms Music

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Rjania - 2001 (2022)

Coming from a "bedroom in Northwestern England" is this moody music by the artist known as Rjania. Her music gathered on this August's album 2001 is all about getting piano sounds into dreamy and ambient-like form.

They are certainly slow-paced and skilfully manipulated into sounding almost like a drone made of piano keys. The results are soothing but also very sad, making me think of the time just before the spring, when it's still cold and static but there's already the hope of bringing back the life present in the air. And it's not like in this lot of noisy effects, the artist forgets about the beauty the piano can bring, just get to Open Door and hear for yourself.

2001 costs 6 EUR (5 GBP).

Check: Open Door

Country: UK

Genre: piano ambient

:bandcamp:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Clouds Are Learning - Where Dreams Fade Away (2022)

Leandro Liguori, who makes music as Clouds Are Learning, comes back to the blog with another ultra moody, though not very long, album called Where Dreams Fade Away. His project provides us with striking, beautiful and very calm music experience.

The soundscapes here are subtly noisy and drony in the backgrounds while filled with beautiful, rain-like piano keys in the centre of attention. The melancholia enchanted within this music is so overwhelming that the audience must try as hard as they can not to succumb to it. Because when they do, there's little chance for save. Especially when those particularly tear-jerking moments hit, like the hidden voice samples in The Descent. But the peak of the mood is reached in less "flashy" way, namely, in the slow finish of the title track that really feels like the death of a dream and I love the sadness it comes with.

Where Dreams Fade Away costs 4 USD.

Clouds Are Learning - Slow Cities and Fake Lights (2019)

Check: The Descent

Country: Argentina

Genre: neoclassical soundscape

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Ziggurat - HYPNOS (2022)

Ziggurat's PREFACE was an album I found particularly interesting on the post-rock scene back in 2019. Although years passed, the Texas band's eclectic and very broad definition of the genre hasn't changed. HYPNOS was meant to be released back before the pandemics hit and it took some years to finish after all.

Led by a grand piano, HYPNOS really feels like a fruit of many years of work. These compositions are very jazzy and chill-out-like. The pace is not very high but it's not the important thing here. There are still many things going on in every second of the album with the piano sounds cementing them together into the psychedelically diverse wholes. It was designed to meet the expectations of people of various musical interests who should be glad to taste this "musical smoothie [that] creates a refreshing experience" for all. It certainly makes the listener more relaxed, the mesmerizing compositions create a perfect environment for escaping the world's busy reality and, as such, the album should be praised.

HYPNOS costs 7 USD.

Ziggurat - PREFACE (2019)

Check: RETURN HOME

Country: Texas, US

Genre: piano-led instrumental

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Bethlehem Struluckt - Daphne (2022)

Ambient/neoclassical musician but also a photographer and artist in general (as can be witnessed on his Instagram account), Bethlehem Struluckt comes from Central Mexico and brings a good dose of music magic. His new album, Daphne, seems to be his comeback to music making after a decade-long hiatus and it's a good thing he came back too.

There's so many different vibes on this album, the artist clearly wanted to try a lot of things and combine them into one whole. And I'd say it worked: the subtle electronic sounds (Agnosthesia) go together with the beautiful piano parts and very ethereal notes in the backgrounds. The latter are so omnipresent that I could safely say it's a dream ambient music, especially where background choir-like vocals make the composition extremely cinematic too. And there are parts that remind me of my favourite soundtracks - a good example would be Volver atrás y no sentir perdón with piano keys resembling the ones in Clint Mansell's works.

Daphne costs 7 EUR (150 MXN).

Check: Volver atrás y no sentir perdón

Country: Mexico

Genre: neoclassical ambient

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Georgeson - The Solitude of an Endless Sky (2022)

Joris De Bolle is better known as the member of the Belgium post-rock outfit Celestial Wolves, but since recently, also as a solo artist creating his music under the moniker of Georgeson. With the ties to the Belgian post-rock scene are known, it's no surprise that De Bolle's debut album, The Solitude of an Endless Sky, was released by dunk! records.

And the album is as far from the heavy guitar music as possible. It is filled with neoclassical sounds of piano that are both melodic and moody for the whole duration of the release. No wonder that there are so many references to the Far North and the snowy landscapes of solitude. Melancholia fills the album from the start to finish. Finish which is, unlike what I wrote at the beginning, gravitating towards post-rock with Les Feux Follets de la Somme ending with very loud and very raw-sounding guitar noise.

The Solitude of an Endless Sky costs 7 EUR.

Check: The Ballad of the Ninety-Nines

Country: Belgium   

Genre: piano soundscapes

Label: dunk!records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

NOX - In a Heartbeat (2021)

The French neoclassical artist Lucas Noire makes music as NOX. And under this moniker, he released a short album called In a Heartbeat. And it's full of beautiful piano sounds with some modern, ambient elements.

The 5 tracks on the album make together word "hopes" and it is a good summary of this music. Piano pieces that more often than not sound bright and hopeful, with melodies that don't shy away from higher pace and catchy tunes, but also with sequences of softer, more melancholic music (this combination is particularly effective in E). Especially when there are, very rarely but still, some special effects, like the heart beat that leads the composition in S. This is a short but emotional EP made almost entirely of piano sounds and proves that you don't need much more to convey so much.

In a Heartbeat costs 3.33 EUR.

Check: E

Country: France

Genre: piano-led neoclassical

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Allison Lorenzen - Tender (2021)

The Colorado-based artist Allison Lorenzen is better known as half of the School Dance duo, but this November she launched her solo career with an album called Tender. And just like the title suggests, she gave up her band's darkwave for a gentler and cosier pop tunes.

The album is filled with slowcore/art pop compositions that borrow something from the post-punk and synthwave genres, but the balance surely is tilted towards the warmth of dreamy pop. The compositions are usually strongly based on the moody and never-hurried piano keys and Lorenzen's soft but haunting vocals. This results in an extremely intimate and reflection-fuelling experience that is only deepened by what is going on in the backgrounds. This is the realm of the subtlest guitar noise (so touching in Afterthought!) and ethereal backing vocals, taking what's best from the noise pop and dream pop's catalogue. 

She's not alone in this either; the album features help by her fellow slowcore/ambient pop star Madeline Johnston a.k.a. Midwife (especially well-provided in the single track Vale) as well as Daniel Patrick Henry, better known as Memory Tapes. The music's intimate sadness is not a coincidence here. The whole album is very much focused on the problems of the heart, the emotional changes one has to go through, as Lorenzen is said to be "nursing old wounds from the end of a relationship and her musical project School Dance" and dealing with those in the form of music. And this is something that can be felt on the album particularly well.

Tender costs 7 USD.

Check: Vale

Country: Colorado, US

Genre: piano-based ambient pop

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Non Somnia - Stella Meae (2021)

Carlos Herrera Quifes is a Spanish artist who creates his music under the moniker of Non Somnia. The project's names is quite deceitful as it translates to "Don't Dream", while the music he shows is all about dreamy feelings. Herrera Quifes has just released his debut album called Stella Meae.

In his music, the Spanish artist combines virtually neoclassical instruments like piano keys and strings with space/sci-fi vibes of progressive electronica and post-rock. The mix here sounds as if Tides from Nebula decided to play some moody and slower pieces with beautifully sounding instruments. As could be guessed, eventually the compositions end  up more into the post-rock realm with very guitar-fueled and loud crescendos. But even then, the music doesn't go away from the piano/synth nature, these are not only ornamentation, it's the core of Non Somnia's sound and it feels very well done. This combination of genres creates a dramatic and dynamic soundscape with words like epic and cinematic that have to be uttered here.

Stella Meae costs 5 EUR.

Check: The End of the World

Country: Spain

Genre: piano-based post-rock

Label: Post. Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Van Gogh Season - Versus (2021)

The Italian post-rockers from Van Gogh Season for the first appeared on my blog back in 2019 with their second EP. Now they are back with more material. Although it's called an EP, Versus is considerably longer and contains some fresh and exciting instrumental music.

They admit to take inspirations from bands such as Maybeshewill and sleepmakeswaves - very guitar-oriented music with tons of energy and excitement. No wonder they describe their own music as "combining energetic riffs with vigorous build-ups and calm pianistic sections" - the part about piano sounds may be even an understatement: all of the compositions are based on the beautifully composed piano passages with guitars adding the post-rock's dark energy to the mix. The tracks are quite complex in every aspect: the melodies and pace change often and with great results, there are also precious details like voice samples (sometimes from quite unorthodox sources like Emma Stones' lines from La La Land) and electronic tidbits from time to time. 

From my perspective, Kracovia is the most interesting track here. Not only is it the fastest and the most powerful one here, not only is it finished in an impressive and surprising way, it's also somehow about the city I live in and it makes me curious. I would love the band to come here, that's for sure.

Versus costs 7 EUR.

Van Gogh Season - Van Gogh Season, Pt. 2 (2019)

Check: Kracovia 

Country: Italy

Genre: piano-based post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify: