LUDOVICO EINAUDI

Underwater (Decca)

Underwater is the first full solo piano record in 20 years from Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi, whose distinctive, serene contemporary signature works including I Giorni and Le Onde have transfixed listeners over several decades. Inspired by the consequential stillness of the pandemic and global lockdowns, Underwater offers moments of tranquil reflection that offer an alternative response to the anxiety the last two years have evoked, meanwhile taking a look at the surrounding natural landscape.

It’s unsurprising that Underwater should so compellingly capture the opposing absence of noise felt in recent months, owing to Einaudi’s extensive original film and television scores (Nomadland, Black Swan, This Is England). The gentle crescendo of Indian Yellow and Flora offer a rousing wintry look forward to the onset of spring, while Nobody Knows paints a contemplative close to an album and era Einaudi guides its listener through. 

words CHLOË EDWARDS