Photographer: Taru Leinonen
The noise of the world, the sudden silence, eternal longing and the stage that is nature form the themes of The Finnish artist Päivi Sihvonen‘s debut album. Right after publishing, her first singles Self-consciousness and Dream gained recognition on international music websites and have been selected to be broadcast on European radio channels. Through the passing of time and emotions, a sense on wholeness gets channelled into music in Piper’s debut album ‘What is the heart for?‘.
Air soars in melancholy
The third single release ‘Air’ is particularly special to its creator. ‘Air’ needs its own spotlight to bring out its sensibility, separate from the other songs on the album. It was born out of fragility and after the black sun had set. With heavy feet trailing on the ground, after seven weeks of wailing, ‘Air’ was born, which is the fourth song on the album.
Listen to the single on music services: https://push.fm/fl/piper-air
This single is part of the double track on the album, but it also works as a stand-alone piece. During the stages of songwriting, the songs ‘Eternity‘ and ‘Air’ found each other and formed a pair: the mystery of eternity without reverberation. After the pain that started in ‘Eternity’, the piano moods of ‘Air’ continue with a similar sadness.
‘To me, the arrangement of Air needed a delicate melancholy. My song partner Saku found it with a sad guitar version. Hearing it was such a great experience that I took more time with the song and waited until I could sing and rediscover my own voice again. At the same time, I made the decision that fragility can and should be heard’ Päivi describes the process of how the song found its tune, and continues: ‘In the end, the song found its place on the album, even though I originally wrote it without any intentions of ultimately releasing it for others to hear. Air is the most emotional song on the album.‘
‘A woman and a piano create a strong tone in her debut album
‘What is the heart for?’ the lyrics and the moods of the songs that ended up on the record got their driving force from the challenges of being human, and got their strong framework inspired by nature.
In typical expressive style of Piper, all songs originate from and around the piano. Other instruments have been added to bring the songs into rock sound. Other instruments are performed by the talented Saku Anttila.
Born out of feeling
This record is about the fleeting moments in life and the emotions that reflect those moments. Feelings are channeled into music and tune that ultimately became the titular Piper.
The overpowering feeling that feels so overwhelming at times and the theme that transpires through every song – this album is named after words left unsaid:
‘What is the heart for.. should listen to it more’
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 