Italian pianist and composer Federico Albanese has released his latest single ‘The Lantern’, and announced his signing to UK record label Mercury KX. The new track will feature on ‘FLOW’ – a compilation album celebrating three years since the label’s launch.
Federico Albanese’s latest single ‘The Lantern’ is out now to stream.
Speaking of his signing to Mercury KX, Albanese said, “I probably belonged on the label way before I officially signed with them. It’s amazing. It’s like being part of a family.”
Mercury KX co-label manager Cerys Weetch said, “We are delighted to have friend of the label Federico join our community of artists. His vibrant and warm personality brings people together and he embraces the idea of “family” like no one else –which is why I was so overwhelmed when he wrote ‘The Lantern’ especially for FLOW.”
The Lantern
Albanese’s cinematic new track ‘The Lantern’ seamlessly blends contemporary classical with ambient electronics – exuding an airy, meditative beauty. While many musicians turn to seismic personal events for inspiration, for Albanese inspiration originates from anything playing on his mind: an image perhaps, an experience, a feeling. ‘The Lantern’ was written following Saint Martin’s day in Germany, a celebratory day on which families make and decorate lanterns, before carrying their candle-lit creations on a ritualistic procession along the street then congregating at a bonfire to sing.
Albanese says of the new single, “There’s something extremely beautiful about it. It’s dark, with just the light from the lanterns, and some people were even hanging bells and little pieces of wood, so there was a strange kind of musical background as well. I kept thinking about this moment, then I said, ‘Ok, let’s write a song about it’, because that’s what I do when I have something in my head. So I sat down at the piano, and I started writing this song with a feeling of walking in procession with gentle, delicate melodies – like a lullaby.”
The track’s fragile minimalism – with hypnotic flowing piano and soft synthesisers – perfectly captures the bewitching nocturnal atmosphere. While the world becomes ever noisier, Albanese’s evocative music creates a much-needed space to listen and be peaceful.
About Federico Albanese
Born in Italy in 1982, Albanese was just two years old when a local music store owner told his mother that her son had a gift for music. “Give him a musical education”, the man said, “and he will excel”. Albanese’s mother duly obliged, taking her son for piano lessons in Milan from the age of six, every day after school, and every Sunday to watch the weekly rehearsals of the city’s orchestra.
As a pianist and composer Albenese has released three studio albums to date, The Houseboat And The Moon (2014), The Blue Hour (2016), and By The Deep Blue Sea (2018).
Federico Albanese’s latest single ‘The Lantern’ is out now on Mercury KX.