Photo: Hannes Caspar

Düsseldorf-based composer, songwriter and experimental musician Hauschka has released ‘Inventions’, the new single from his forthcoming album Philanthropy, ahead of its release on October 20th through City Slang. ‘Inventions’ comes paired with an accompanying video directed by Wataru Sato and filmed around various locations in Japan. Of the video, Hauschka comments:

“The video provides a captivating glimpse into the multifaceted aspects of everyday life in Japan. It skillfully captures both the fast-paced, hyper-modern lifestyle and the serene moments deeply rooted in its rich history and culture, finding expression in poetry and carpentry. It showcases that there’s not one answer, and that joy and serenity can be found in everything, from arts and crafts to the meticulous work of a train conductor.”

Sato also had this to say about it:

“When people from all over the world think of Japan, they probably envision Tokyo with its towering skyscrapers. However, in this video, I’ve turned our focus to towns and individuals who hold their culture in high regard, and to those who, upon recognizing the beauty of this culture, create something anew. My intention was to highlight that these often-overlooked people and cultural aspects play a pivotal role in our society. With Japan’s diverse culture and landscapes, we hope that, through the medium of sound, it can be appreciated by audiences worldwide.”

Watch the video for ‘Inventions’ now.

Abandoned Cities, the outstanding album from German composer, songwriter and experimental musician Hauschka, came out to wide acclaim just over a year ago. He’s now offering a stunning video to accompany ‘ Who Lived Here?’. Like the album, inspired and centred around abandoned places, the video features derelict buildings and deserted places. Eric Epstein directs. Here it is.

Abandoned Cities is out now via Temporary Residence in the US and and City Slang in Europe.

Hauschka‘s monumental album Abandoned City came out to wide acclaim last March. The German composer, songwriter and experimental musician is now offering a fittingly wonderful and cinematic video for the track, ‘Agdam’, lifted from the same album.
As we had previously mentioned, the tracks on Abandoned City were named after actual name deserted cities. ‘Agdam’ is named after a city in Azerbaijan that was deserted and destroyed during the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1993.
Here’s the video directed by Jordan Bruner and Lee Gingold.

Abandoned City is out now via City Slang and Temporary Residence.

Back in December, we heard ‘Elizabeth Bay’, the monumental first single from Hauschka‘s forthcoming album Abandoned City. Now the talented composer, songwriter and experimental musician is offering an astonishing live video to accompany the track. Watch it beneath and grab Abandoned City when it drops on March 17th in Europe via City Slang and a day later in North America via Temporary Residence.

Ingenious German composer, songwriter and experimental musician Hauschka has announced the release of a new solo full-length album entitled Abandoned City. Hauschka named each of the album tracks after the actual name of deserted cities, such as Pripyat near Chernobyl or Thames Town in China. According to the press release, “Hauschka chose Abandoned City as the title of the album to convey the sense of hope and sadness that consumes him when he’s sitting alone at the keyboard.” Hauschka explains:

“I was interested in finding a metaphor for the inner tension I feel when I’m composing music, a state of mind where I’m lonely and happy at the same time. When I saw photos of abandoned cities, I felt it was perfect. People once lived there, but they left in a rush and now nature has taken over in a beautiful way, things are growing up from the sidewalk and the seasons are changing colors. The music is dark, but in a quiet, uplifting way. The piano is singing the melody but, because of the effects, you can’t hear it directly. It’s like the sound of a choir under the earth, something you feel without realizing it.”

With the exception of one track, ‘Elizabeth Bay’, which was purposely written for a reinvention of Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, Hauschka composed and recorded the entire album in his own home studio over a 10-day period.
‘Elizabeth Bay’ is also the first single to emerge from Abandoned City, its title referring to a deserted mining town in Namibia. The track serves as a wonderful taste of Hauschka’s new album and his skilful and magical blend of neoclassical composition and dance music rhythms.

Hauschka has also confirmed a number of European shows from January onwards, including a London show on March 26th at Cafe Oto. You can check out all the tour dates here.

Now enjoy the monumental and moving ‘Elizabeth Bay’, and watch our for the release of Abandoned City on March 17th via City Slang.