Richard Laurence

ALMIRA

Almira is a vocalist, pianist, and composer who blends vocal and instrumental creativity.  Over the years, she has established her own studio, working as a vocal coach and songwriter.  Now, Almira is returning to her roots, rekindling her deep connection with the felt piano… 

How/when did you start playing the piano and how did you discover an enjoyment for creating your own music?

When I was seven, my mom enrolled me in a music school to study piano, and that’s when I got my first instrument. I remember the moment it arrived at our house - I immediately started playing by ear and creating little melodies. But it wasn’t until my teenage years that I truly believed I could compose. Back then, I focused more on song writing because I was training as a vocalist. It was only three years ago that I finally had the courage to start composing instrumental music.

 Where do you find your main sources of inspiration come from?  (for example, a person, place, feeling, season)

Poetry, the cosmos (especially Saturn and the night sky), of course emotions, memories, heartbreaks.

 There’s a piano sitting in a public place.  Do you go and play it and if so what would you play?

I’d probably be shaking with nerves, but I’d play my piece Night in g minor. 

What do you feel is your biggest achievement so far on your composing journey?

Honestly, just having the courage to do it;) That’s probably my biggest achievement! And from there, so many things followed that I’m proud of—one of them being the opportunity to work as a creator for Spitfire Audio.

You have the opportunity to go on a holiday anywhere in the world but only if you compose an album of music to share your adventure.  Where do you go?!

Japan, definitely.

How do you record your music? Is it a real piano or virtual instrument and do you record from home or at a studio?

Most of the time, I record on my acoustic felt piano—my beloved old Petrof—in my home studio. But I also use virtual libraries, depending on the atmosphere I want to create.

What other artist/s has inspired your music the most?

For my piano compositions, definitely Ludovico Einaudi, Hania Rani, and Ólafur Arnalds. But I don’t only create neoclassical music, and I know that, as an artist, I’m shaped by many inspirations—not always the obvious or direct ones. Every piece of music that has touched my heart has left an imprint on me, from classical composers like Beethoven, Bach, and Vivaldi to Nirvana’s songs and Lana Del Rey’s ballads.

What is your favourite piece of music you have written and why is it your favourite?

My personal favourite is my latest single, Winter’s Breath. It’s delicate, I love its harmony, and I finally achieved a piano sound that truly satisfies me. But secretly, I hope my best piece is still ahead of me🙏

What methods do you use to help you compose?  Do you improvise and stumble onto something or go in with a clear structure of what you want to do?

I usually start by choosing a key and improvising, searching first for harmonies that move me, then shaping the melody around them. Harmony has always been the most important part of music for me—I was fascinated by it in Bach’s compositions, and that fascination has stayed with me. I begin by finding the right harmonic tensions and resolutions, then I fill them in with melody.

If you could go back and give yourself one bit of advice about making music what would you share with your younger self?

I’d tell her not to be afraid to be herself - that her softness and sensitivity are actually her greatest strengths as a composer. That she doesn’t need to fit into any particular style, but should create freely from what she feels. And that she should practice technique more—it will make composing feel more effortless 🙏

https://www.instagram.com/almiraeva/

ARA PIANO

Araceli, better known on platforms as Ara_piano, is a Spanish pianist and composer, focused on the minimalist neoclassical style. Her pieces generally tend to be melodic and romantic, with a style that can vary between happy and lively compositions to sad and gloomy ones, depending on the mood she wants to express with the piece.

How/when did you start playing the piano and how did you discover an enjoyment for creating your own music?

I started playing the piano when I was 8 years old. It wasn`t  a personal choice, but a paternal interest. At that time I discovered my favourite pianist and composer throughout my childhood, Richard Clayderman. I listened to his vinyl records, and I played at imagining that I was the one who played that music. The piano for me was any table, or even my own legs. At the age of 9, as a communion gift, I received the most precious gift from my parents, my Yamaha upright, which I still have, and from that moment I began to combine my official piano studies with my own small improvisations, which little by little were taking shape and gaining strength as small own compositions.

 Where do you find your main sources of inspiration come from?  (for example, a person, place, feeling, season)

Currently, there are many things that inspire me. Hence the emotional, structural and rhythmic variety of my compositions. I try to be inspired mainly by my feelings or general mood of the day that I decide to start composing a new piece, but I am also deeply inspired by other things such as the smell and sound of rain, the crackling of a fire, or the colours of autumn.

 There’s a piano sitting in a public place.  Do you go and play it and if so what would you play?

Of course I would go play it. In fact, I already do that in my city in public places where there are pianos. It all depends on the concentration of people around (I'm currently fighting my stage fright), but I don't miss the opportunity to do it whenever I can. Since I was little, I have always had one factor against me: I have been, and still am, incapable of memorizing any complete score written by other composers , something that does not happen to me with my own compositions, so, when it comes to playing “improvised” on a public piano, I would without a doubt choose one of my pieces, which are the ones I have memorized and can play at any time and any place.

What do you feel is your biggest achievement so far on your composing journey?

Without a doubt, my greatest achievement will always be having dared to take the step of making my own compositions public. Sometimes I tend to feel a little unsure of myself, or undervalue myself, and think that my music or my performance is not going to be up to par. Thanks to having managed to take that step of exhibiting my music publicly, I have entered this wonderful world of neoclassicism, allowing me to discover and improve myself, make incredible friendships and meet wonderful people, while enjoying my passion, the piano. Just over a year and a half ago, the date I started to publish my compositions, it was for me a hobby and it was "unthinkable" to have anything more than a handful of listeners. Today, thanks to having managed to remove my fears and insecurities and take that step, I have 50 thousand listeners on platforms with Spotify and more than 80 thousand on other platforms with Amp Pandora. I will always be proud and grateful to have made that step with the help of my family, friends, listeners,  and the support I found on social networks from the beginning.

You have the opportunity to go on a holiday anywhere in the world but only if you compose an album of music to share your adventure.  Where do you go?!

I always take my electronic piano with me wherever I go on vacation, and enjoy the pleasure of composing wherever I am. I already enjoyed this experience on a trip to Paris, and it was wonderful to be inspired by its streets, lights and monuments. Without a doubt, I would love to be able to compose in places like Plitvice Lakes, in Croatia, while enjoying its waterfalls and views, or on the island of Zante, in Greece, from the wonderful views of one of the cliffs.

How do you record your music? Is it a real piano or virtual instrument and do you record from home or at a studio?

I connect my electronic piano to a recording program, and I directly record the piece at the same time as I perform it on the piano. There are times that I maintain the real sound that comes out of the piano, and other times I decide to use a VST to change the sound of the piano if I want to make, for example, a felt-type piece. I would love to be able to record from my Yamaha upright piano, but I currently record from home, and I don't have a soundproof recording room or good microphones that reduce noise and capture good sound, but it's definitely something I'm considering getting as soon as possible. 

What other artist/s has inspired your music the most?

Although I try not to be influenced by the style of other composers, and I try to always keep my own style, I think that in a way I am still influenced by my childhood reference, Richard Clayderman. I became convinced of this when other composers and pianists made some spontaneous comments to me on social media like “I think you sound like Richard Clayderman.” I also frequently listen to other artists such as Yiruma, Yann Tiersen, or Ludovico Einaudi, so it is not strange that some of my pieces may unconsciously contain some small reference to them (although that is not the main intention)

What is your favourite piece of music you have written and why is it your favourite?

I can’t differentiate or choose between 2. "Blind feelings" is special because it was the first composition that I made public. Because of my fears and my insecurity, I was unable to finish it; every ending that I invented seemed insufficient. So finally, I decided to "bandage" my eyes with a scarf, and I started to interpret an end without looking at the keys or thinking what would be the next note, but just letting go by what the piece inspired me, and came out the end with which finally publish the piece, and I cried, cried with emotion inconsolably, which was a relief for me; therefore I will never forget it. On the other hand, "opportunity" was my first collaboration with another musician that I admire a lot, who I met thanks to Blind Feelings, and who gradually became my support and friend. In addition to being our first collaboration together, we chose that name, and the date of publication, on a day that was difficult for me personally, because I was facing medical tests and results that might not go well or could change forever the rest of my life and that of my daughter, (I heard the premiere in the ICU, in an operating room, alone, and I cried, cried out of fear, out of nervousness), so everything in this piece is special: its meaning, collaboration, date, and name, a "chance" to "be born again" and see the light again. Finally, fortunately, it was fine. That same afternoon I heard it again and cried again, this time of joy, emotion, and with the feeling of having taken a great weight off my shoulders. So many contradictory feelings when listening to the same piece with little difference of hours!

What methods do you use to help you compose?  Do you improvise and stumble onto something or go in with a clear structure of what you want to do?

Generally they all start as a small improvisation. I sit down at the piano, and, depending on what my mood is that day, or my main source of inspiration (for example, if it is raining), I start improvising and trying to reflect in music what my feelings want to express without words. From there, if that little improvisation captures my attention and I think it is worth working on, I transfer the music to a staff and start writing the score at the same time I am playing on the piano, adding fragments or making the necessary corrections or modifications. 

If you could go back and give yourself one bit of advice about making music what would you share with your younger self?

Without a doubt, don't give up. I had a break in my musical career, which I think closed many doors for me and later, after years, it cost me almost a “restart”, not from scratch, but almost, something that would have been unnecessary if I had not decided stall. So without a doubt, I would give two: do not stop or give up, and also face stage fright before it becomes stronger than you, since I am verifying from experience that later this fight is more difficult to win when you decide to return to it. If I went back, I would not interrupt my musical career due to my insecurity or my fears, and I would not close as many opportunities or doors as I have been doing for many years in my life.

https://www.atom.bio/ara_piano

https://www.instagram.com/ara_piano_/

BRENDA WARREN

Composer/Pianist Brenda Warren’s music goes straight to the heart with her beautifully expressive piano compositions. Joyful as well as introspective moods with a melodic core capture the listener. The deeply reflective quality of her piano music is enhanced on occasion with strings and other instrumentation.

How/when did you start playing the piano and how did you discover an enjoyment for creating your own music?

I sat down at the piano at four years old. After watching my kindergarten teacher play songs we loved to sing I went home and played those songs on my own piano by ear. I began piano lessons a year later and entered the Detroit Conservatory of Music to study classical music and while there I discovered I wanted to compose my own music and left a couple years later and since then I’ve been writing my own music.

Where do you find your main sources of inspiration come from?  (for example, a person, place, feeling, season)

My main sources of inspiration started with classical composers like Mozart, then Satie and Debussy. But the great jazz composer/ pianist Keith Jarrett made me want to study music more and I starting improvisational playing, just letting go and playing from feelings and emotions.

What do you feel is your biggest achievement so far on your composing journey?

My biggest achievement so far is my album “Beautiful Journey” as I got to work with some of the most talented world renowned artists and musicians and a legendary producer I admired for years. I wrote this album after my mother passed on and I was trying to heal from this loss so each piece is about hope, love, and a reminder how life is a precious gift. The first piece “Imagine Spring” is the feeling of renewal and noticing the beauty in the world.

 There’s a piano sitting in a public place.  Do you go and play it and if so what would you play?

No, probably wouldn’t play.

 You have the opportunity to go on a holiday anywhere in the world but only if you compose an album of music to share your adventure.  Where do you go?!

If I could go anywhere and compose a new album it would be somewhere in Italy. I’ve only been there once but I loved Tuscany so I think a quiet villa there would be ideal.

 How do you record your music? Is it a real piano or virtual instrument and do you record from home or at a studio?

I have recorded all my music on a real piano and each one in a studio. My second album “ As Years Go By” was recorded at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Brothers Studios. It was like being in a dream and I felt like I was on sacred music ground knowing how many film scores were recorded there by many of the greatest musicians. To make it perfect was my favorite piano, an amazing sounding Steinway with an unbelievable history. 

What methods do you use to help you compose?  Do you improvise and stumble onto something or go in with a clear structure of what you want to do?

I like to improvise and when I stumble on something that feels right, I memorize that and build the other sections around it.

What other artist/s has inspired your music the most?

  Many artists from all different styles of music have inspired me. Joni Mitchell was a big influence as I loved her songwriting and learned to play her music early on. Later I discovered Keith Jarrett and I still am very influenced by Erik Satie. And finally Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of my favorites.  

What is your favourite piece of music you have written and why is it your favourite?

 It’s not easy to pick my favorite piece of music I’ve written as there are songs with lyrics I’ve written I’m very proud of. But if it’s about piano music it’s “Remembering You” from my second album “As Years Go By”. It was the first time I added a string quartet and it added so much depth and beauty to the piece that I never imagined while composing it. 

If you could go back and give yourself one bit of advice about making music what would you share with your younger self?

I am not sure what advice to give my younger self but I’m glad I spent all those years of piano lessons, practicing and studying to earn a college music degree and performing and recording with so many talented musicians. I’m still at the piano discovering the magic in the keys where I can express my deepest feelings and compose music from my heart. When music is your passion it will be your friend for life.

https://www.instagram.com/brendawarrenmusic/

https://brendawarrenmusic.com/

VEGSO

Sándor Végső, known professionally as Vegso, is a Hungarian-born composer and music producer currently residing in West Yorkshire, England. His musical journey blends contemporary and neoclassical elements, with a strong emphasis on piano-driven compositions that evoke a melancholic and introspective atmosphere.

How/when did you start playing the piano and how did you discover an enjoyment for creating your own music?

My musical journey began unconventionally. A brief piano lesson at eight was cut short after my grandfather declared me tone-deaf. Undeterred, I discovered music production at 15, using my computer as my instrument. Encouraged by friends' positive reactions, I honed my skills, creating music for various rap groups under the pseudonym The Player . Then, in 2011, the French film The Intouchables and Ludovico Einaudi's captivating score sparked a new dream: to create similarly magical music. There was just one catch – I didn't play piano. Nevertheless, in 2015, I proudly released my first neoclassical piece, "Years."

Where do you find your main sources of inspiration come from?  (for example, a person, place, feeling, season)

Whether I'm travelling, driving, walking, or running, my senses are constantly engaged, sparking emotions and ideas. Movies, too, provide a powerful outlet to find renewed inspiration.

What do you feel is your biggest achievement so far on your composing journey?

Moving to England in 2004 brought me into contact with a vibrant community of musicians during a studio recording class. I was fortunate to befriend a talented individual, and I eagerly shared my music creation process and recording techniques with him. A year later, he returned to Portugal, while I continued composing in my home studio, occasionally sending him new material for feedback. Then, one day, he called with exciting news: his debut album had been released. To my astonishment, one of the tracks was a song I had produced. He's since become a multi-platinum selling artist, not because my song, but because his an incredible talent. This collaboration remains my proudest musical achievement.

 There’s a piano sitting in a public place.  Do you go and play it and if so what would you play?

Given the right opportunity, I would happily play. "Morior Invictus" would likely be my piece of choice.

 You have the opportunity to go on a holiday anywhere in the world but only if you compose an album of music to share your adventure.  Where do you go?!

Drawing inspiration from the world around me is a key part of my creative process. My first album, for example, was deeply influenced by the landscapes of Norway. Perhaps one day, the stark beauty of Antarctica will provide the ultimate muse.

 How do you record your music? Is it a real piano or virtual instrument and do you record from home or at a studio?

I do record at home. I have a digital piano and also have my go to virtual instrument but I often experiment with different instruments for different songs. Just love the flexibility of “In the box”.  

What methods do you use to help you compose?  Do you improvise and stumble onto something or go in with a clear structure of what you want to do?

My composing process often begins with simple improvisation at the piano, exploring melodies and harmonies. I also find inspiration in watching films, particularly focusing on specific scenes without the sound. Once I've recorded a piece, I like to let it rest for a few days or even weeks. Returning to it with fresh ears, I gauge its emotional impact. If it still resonates, it stays; if not, it's deleted.

What other artist/s has inspired your music the most?

  A list is extensive and not in one genre: Ludovico Einaudi, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Scott Storch, Andre Benjamin,     

What is your favourite piece of music you have written and why is it your favourite?

 Morior Invictus - I wrote this song to someone special who left us way too early. 

If you could go back and give yourself one bit of advice about making music what would you share with your younger self?

Don't play what people are expecting you to play. Play what you love to play and what makes you happy.

https://www.instagram.com/iamvegso