HANIA RANI
Photos by Marta Kacprzak
Hania Rani is a Polish pianist, composer and musician. Her debut album of solo piano pieces Esja was released in 2019 to wide acclaim. Her new album Home expands on the sounds of Esja with the additions of vocals and electronics. In this interview, she talks about the ways in which imagery inspires her music, how her new album expands the musical narrative begun on Esja, the rigors of shooting a music video on a snowy windswept Icelandic beach, and more.
Interview by Tyler Nesler
You've said that you are often musically inspired by images. Were there any particular photographs or paintings which served as inspiration for songs on your debut solo album Esja and your new album Home?
There isn’t one particular photo or photographer, but indeed everything I have seen so far has influenced me, especially when looking for the right artwork for my album or searching for a special atmosphere I wanted to achieve in every single track. I think it's more about creating an image in my own head when composing a piece of music, rather than using an existing one as an inspiration. But when talking about photography — I am especially into images that explore the play of light and shade, where light is not taking over the whole image but maybe just a small — but important — part of it.
These interests can also be found in my compositions, they seem to be melancholic in general but there is always a bit of hidden hope. I am also really interested in proportions, structure and composition in visual arts. I like to observe it not only in photography but also in architecture, paintings or sculptures. Music is an illusory area, it's sometimes easier for me to learn from things that you can actually touch, measure, or feel with your body.
How do you think Home furthers the musical narrative established on Esja? In what aspects do the two albums compliment and build off each other?
For me they are like siblings growing up together because I was writing songs for both albums almost at the same time, continually since 2016. What built Home into the shape that we can hear now and what brings it to its final form, were definitely also my side projects — not only musical ones, but also my intense traveling during the last two years. When playing in other bands I had to learn a lot of new things, especially about music producing, recording, using electronics or loops. People expected more from me than just being a pianist or singer. In the meantime, I was trying these new things in my solo project and this is probably how Home was built during those four years of learning.
Home (Gondwana Records, 2020)
Some tracks on Home include accompaniment by bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak. What do you think the benefits are to filling out your compositions with additional instrumentation? In what ways does adding bass and drums enhance the piano's own inherent expressions of percussion and rhythm?
For years I was listening to bands such as Portico Quartet or GoGo Penguin. They were my idols and inspiration, music that I was coming back to a lot. At some point I just wanted to try similar vibes in my own music, to be honest. I used to write quite a lot of music for strings, especially for string quartet. I got a bit tired of that sound and wanted to explore new possibilities. This is why I moved towards electronics, bass, and drums to see what would happen. At the same time, I was careful not to lose my own voice and style between the other instruments. That's why I decided to keep the album balanced and include more instruments only in the couple of songs — leaving space also for less complex compositions for solo piano.
You sing on the recently released tracks "Home” and "Leaving.” Since much of your work has been primarily instrumental, what were some challenges or unexpected creative benefits to writing lyrics and singing?
My singing and even writing the lyrics always come from melody first, from an instrumental way of thinking. I am primarily a pianist and instrumental music is something very natural to me. That’s why I treat vocals also like another instrument — they are not only carrying the leading melody line and words but also can be multiplied, reversed, edited or even damaged like any other instrumental sample.
What I love about the voice is its fragility. You can guess the emotions immediately; voice always brings the statement in the most direct and instant manner. I was also pretty fascinated by the “human” aspect of this kind of music — compositions with voice are immediately connected to a human being. Changing my own (pretty high) voice to a lower register or editing its tone made me feel like there are multiple people singing or even that my own substance is changing into another person or gender. Playing with voice and using the power of words opened for me new ways of expression. I also noticed that songs [using vocals] bring a special connection with a listener — that's a very unique experience.
The lyrics for "Home" essentially became the thematic foundations for the album. Have you approached establishing musical themes through lyric writing before or is this a newer direction for you? How do you think the use of words and language furthers the evolution of your song writing compared to composing instrumentally?
Although I try to keep my lyrics abstract and not so direct — in the beginning I found it very difficult to open up so much with my thoughts in front of an audience. Even though I think that I am not sharing too much and my songs can be interpreted in many ways I felt I have never been more honest and “naked” in my art. Singing “Home” for the first time — years ago now already — was a big challenge for me. I almost started to cry at the end of the song when the words "come back home” are repeated like a mantra.
I decided to use the “Home” song and its lyrics as a leitmotiv of the whole album because this song opened a new chapter in my career as a performer and composer. This step was the beginning and a clear decision about where I am going and what my aim is. I felt it was the right thing to do. Through the years, and while performing the song hundreds of times I discovered that the composition is easy to re-work and can appear in many different arrangements, changing also the meaning of the lyrics and the character of the music. I liked this possibility a lot and started to build a bigger story around this one song.
Publicity for the album mentions that it contains fragments of the short story Loneliness by Bruno Schulz — is this fragment incorporated into a portion of the song lyrics for the opening track "Leaving" or is it elsewhere? What were some of your reasons for choosing this particular story?
The text can be found inside of the album cover. I discovered Bruno Schulz in my high school years, and although it was not an obligatory reading, I was so fascinated that I decided to write my final thesis about the writer. The book stayed with me and I have come back to it many times afterwards. Loneliness was always one of my favorite fragments, a pure ode to imagination.
To my first album Esja I added the text On Silence by Witold Lutosławski, a famous Polish composer. With Home I wanted to keep this tradition and also add an important text for me, explaining the history behind the album in a poetic way. Loneliness was my first association with the new material and I also had a feeling it was a very good choice when it came to understanding our strange times now. I was also happy to share some Polish literature with an audience from other countries, especially this text, which is still less known.
You began performing the song "Home" live in 2018 and it evolved through different versions up to the version included on the album. Do you think that making the song an essential part of your live performances helped to develop it in ways it wouldn't have otherwise? Do you view live performance as an important part of the creative evolution for your songs?
Definitely. Performing live, recording live performance, and then analyzing it is a huge lesson. I like to explore how far I can go with one song. I have been adding some improvised moments to compositions from Esja and was observing how flexible the form can get. The same thing happened with the song "Home.” I started with a very simple, acoustic version and ended up with two totally different arrangements, including way more instruments.
The new song "F Major" now has a mesmerizing video shot in an otherworldly Icelandic landscape. How did director Neels Castillon become involved in this project? Did you work with him and the featured dancers on developing the concept? What were some challenges with shooting one take in such a raw environment of cold and wind, and how many different tries did it require?
I met Neels on Instagram last year, just after my first album was released. He called me some weeks later and proposed a collaboration. We met in Paris, when I was playing a concert there, and we started to think and plan. He wanted to shoot a video for one of my songs from an upcoming album. I really was impressed about how much he likes and understands my music. It was an obvious decision to start doing things together. I also knew his taste and other works. I knew that he usually works with dancers and movement and I was very into it. I also liked Neels as a person and we got along really well. I trusted him 100% and gave him freedom. It's not very typical for me to trust somebody else so much when it comes to my music but this time I took a chance.
Iceland happened to us a bit by coincidence, but it was the best we could ask for. We were extremely lucky with the weather that day. We booked three days for shooting but to be honest we could only work about five hours the first day. The next day the beach — where the video was shot — was covered fully with snow. You could not recognize the same place. That's why it turned out that the video is a master shot. We had so little time — because it was difficult to stay outside in such freezing cold temperatures — that we had to do our best and fit in the shortest possible time. The dancers were so professional, not complaining at all and dancing passionately during every single take. I was really impressed and grateful.
Your atmospheric compositions can certainly be "cinematic" and you recently completed the soundtrack for the upcoming film I Never Cry directed by Piotr Domalewski. "F Major" was written while you were also working on music for I Never Cry. What was it like for you to work on the new album and the film soundtrack around the same time? Do you think that composing for the film influenced your compositions for the album and vice versa?
Yes and no. Working on a movie soundtrack was definitely a new kind of experience for me. Although Piotr knew my style and asked me to keep my way of composing, I had to learn how music gets together with image and what kind of emotions this combination can bring. The outcome was sometimes devastating because songs that seemed to be matching the atmosphere were not working well with the image — the result was too dramatic, sad, melancholic or the other way — uplifting.
Domalewski’s movies are quite heavy and dramatic, he likes to tell stories with real characters, not always showing an easy life. The biggest challenge of composing music for his film was not to make it even heavier and more dramatic with my sounds. The music was supposed to bring out inner thoughts of the protagonist and show a bit more of an abstract side of particular situations. It was a really inspiring time for me. I was all into this project and I am really happy about the result. Although the music sounds like Hania Rani — I found it very fresh and surprising, among my other compositions.
How do you see your work evolving further in the near future? Are there any plans to compose more for film and the stage? Any other upcoming projects or performances that you would like people to know about?
I would definitely like to compose more for movies. Film brings me to the unknown areas of creation. I am currently working on the music for a documentary about the wildfires in Australia. There are a couple of remixes on my table as well, about which I am really excited, and a new album in collaboration with cellist — Dobrawa Czocher.
For my solo music I would like to explore some totally different areas and genres — I have some first images and atmospheres in my head already but I guess it will take a bit more time to make it happen the way I would like it to be. I must say — I am not bored and I promise to share with my listeners some new things in the near future.
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Tyler Nesler is a New York City-based freelance writer and the Founder and Managing Editor of INTERLOCUTOR Magazine.
