Home, the new EP by pianist and composer Pieter de Graaf, is the sound of reconciliation. A reconciliation of body and mind, to be exact. For many artists this reconciliation is implicit, but Pieter took quite a detour to arrive at the liberation of these five intimate compositions.
Where he enthusiastically chased new sounds making predecessor Equinox, on Home, he poured that newly-earned musical freedom into more elementary song structures. The construction of his brand new home studio was just wrapping up when he started placing the microphones to record the songs. The minimalist ‘Labyrinth’ does not immediately start with a harmony, but searches for the emotional core at its own desired pace. As the title also reveals, this song embodies a certain twisting movement, a detour you take to find inner resolve and peace in mind.
With ‘Castle In The Air’ you sense that Pieter has reached a familiar place: the warm melodies are only subtly supported by electronic elements. The long detour leads to an open space in which to maneuver freely. On Home you will hear a renewed relationship between artist and instrument: crisp, free and with a clear view towards the future. “Home also refers to my home studio, feeling physically at home in my own body and also coming home musically. And give free rein to everything you’ve learned and done. My main rule is always that I have to feel it. I don’t think it’s until a musician feels something one hundred percent that other people start to feel it too. And I think that’s the beauty of music.”
