Hania Rani explores the tempo of water on new single "The Boat" : music video out now

HANIA RANI POLISH EXPERIMENTAL MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, COMPOSER, AND VOCALIST RELEASES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO “THE BOAT” A TRANSCENDENTAL EXPLORATION OF THE TEMPO OF WATER, FROM HER FORTHCOMING ALBUM GHOSTS SET FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 6 ON GONDWANA RECORDS WATCH VIDEO FOR "THE BOAT" HERE:

GHOSTS INSPIRED BY A 2 MONTH STAY AT A HAUNTED SANATORIUM IN SWITZERLAND, THE THIN LINE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH AND BRIMS WITH A NEW IMPROVISATIONAL, EXPERIMENTAL, SOUND   NORTH AMERICAN FALL TOUR ANNOUNCED WITH DATES IN NYC, WASHINGTON D.C., CHICAGO, SEATTLE, LOS ANGELES AND MORE

Photo Credit: Jakub Stoszek | Download hi-res here July 24, 2023 – Today, Hania Rani, Polish composer, experimental multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, releases her third single “The Boat,” from her new studio album Ghosts, due out October 6 on Gondwana Records.   “The Boat” is a transcendental, explorative instrumental work that plays with the concept of water, ebbing and flowing, and inspired by her time in Venice and the Scottish Isle of Islay. It is one of the darker, more probing tracks on this new album, which signifies a bold departure from Rani’s previous work – embracing improvisation, synth sounds, boundary-pushing vocal techniques– and features guest artists such as Olafur Arnalds, Patrick Watson and more.   “The Boat” is released today alongside a music video in partnership with Bowmore Whiskey, one of Scotland’s oldest whiskey distilleries, directed by Neels Castillon and filmed in Scotland on the Isle of Islay, an island of the inner Hebrides.   Rani was initially inspired to write “The Boat” by her time in Venice, spending more time on boats and water than land. She recounts, “I have never spent so much time on water, so in the beginning I felt both excited and dizzy, trying to understand and follow the tempo of the waves. Slowly it became so comfortable that going back on land felt strange and new. Water seemed so silent and free to me, and most importantly timeless - unable to be in a rush.”   The sketch of the song – originally beginning with just piano and double bass – expanded after some time away and once Rani got a clearer idea of what the next project, her solo album Ghosts, would look like. From there, she added swirling textures with her beloved Prophet synth, as well as strings, recorded in the big hall of a Polish radio station in Warsaw.   Watch “Dancing with Ghosts” Feat. Patrick Watson HERE Watch “Hello: live session in the mountains” HERE Pre-order Ghosts HERE

When Hania Rani reintroduced herself this spring with “Hello”, the preliminary taster for her then unannounced new album, Ghosts, it most likely startled many who’ve come to love her work. Otherworldly yet upbeat, its mischievous melody, eloquent Rhodes piano, sparkling synths and nimble rhythms offered little indication of the New Classical style with which she is sometimes associated. But then anyone who has seen Rani live in the last two years can testify Rani’s art is constantly evolving, and, just as the album’s title suggests Rani passes repeatedly and gracefully between musical worlds: as composer, singer, songwriter, and producer.   Ghosts is the sound of an artist finding her own voice, finding new stories to tell and perhaps sharing her music as intended for the first time. It builds on her earlier successes Esja (2019) and Home (2020) with an expanded yet still minimal setup of piano, keyboards, synths (most importantly her Prophet) and centers  her mysterious, bewitching voice.   As the name suggests the album is sometimes eerie, even haunted, these qualities underlined by Icelandic arranger / Hjaltalín member Viktor Orri Árnason (Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Hauschka) and mixing engineer Greg Freeman (Peter Gabriel, Goldfrapp, Portico Quartet). But its spirit is warm, beckoning the listener  into an ambitious double album that unfolds at an exquisite pace, informed by revelatory, exploratory live performances like 2022’s livestream from Paris’ prestigious Les Invalides, which has earned 3.7 million views to date. “I love long albums,” says Rani “and I would love people to listen to this as a concert because it's actually shaped in this way.”   Ghosts is also an album of collaborations: Rani is joined sometimes by bassist and Moog player Ziemowit Klimek, who also appeared on Home. Patrick Watson breathes unearthly life into the ethereal “Dancing with Ghosts” and Portico Quartet’s Duncan Bellamy contributes vital loops to the intricately constructed “Don’t Break My Heart” as well as the track “Thin Line.” She is also joined by friend and musician Ólafur Arnalds, with whom she wrote and recorded “Whispering House,” which casts a peaceful spell.   The lyrics are partially inspired by a two-month residency in a small studio in Switzerland’s mountains, where Rani was working on a soundtrack – released earlier this year as On Giacometti – for a documentary about Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. “Where I stayed was once an old sanatorium in an area which used to be very popular, but now there are huge abandoned hotels where the locals say ghosts live. I mean, it's kind of a local belief system – these ghosts even have names! – but once you're deep into nature or some abandoned place, your imagination starts working on a different level. Things definitely happened that were maybe a little uncomfortable: glasses breaking and stuff like that.”   Rani grew up in a Catholic country where “a lot of rituals and traditions still go on in the countryside and some people believe that ghosts are people not ready to die.” Her setting encouraged her to investigate these themes further: “Dancing with Ghosts”, for example, examines ideas of being absent in one’s own world, and “Hello” addresses the liminal state between wakefulness and sleep.   “The edge of life and death,” Rani summarizes, “and what actually happens in between: this was what really interested me. Even singing the word ‘death’ was quite a shock. It’s such a weird word to say out loud, and people are afraid of it, which I found extremely interesting. Most of the songs probably still talk about love and things like that, but Ghosts is more me thinking about having to face some kind of end.”   If Rani’s debut Esja was about exploiting her principal instrument, and Home saw her take steps towards a fuller expression of her art, Ghosts is where she unites her varied interests on what might even be considered her first ‘real’ album. Drawing upon a fondness for diverse artists like Enya, The Smile, James Blake and Pink Floyd – not to mention her admiration for her guests – and evoking Stina Nordenstam’s delicacy, Keith Jarrett’s flair, Kate Bush’s artistry and Pink Floyd’s probing inclinations, it combines a lifetime’s musical experience in one miraculous, cosmic world. Say hello, then, to something quite unlike anything you’ve ever heard. It’s the sound of HANIA RANI.   NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES: November 22 - Toronto @ TD Music Hall November 23 - Montreal @ Beanfield Theatre November 25 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair November 26 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere November 28 - Washington, D.C. @ Union Stage November 30 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall December 2 - Vancouver @ Chan Centre December 5 - Seattle @ Neptune Theater December 6 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom December 8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore December 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom