Hanakiv’s debut album was an absolute stormer. After two years, the London-based, Estonian-born composer and pianist is returning with her new album ‘Interludes’. It releases on 20th March.
‘Sunbeams’ is the lead single, and Hanakiv describes the track as “a therapeutic way to process unprocessed grief”. It is an ethereal blend of prepared piano, plucked strings, and hazy vocal layers. Hanakiv’s voice didn’t feature on her debut outside of occasional vocalisations. With ‘Sunbeams’, we have lyrics and vocal structures. It reminds me a little of label stablemate Hania Rani and how she integrated her vocals post-debut album. That said, I expect the darker, more gothicly tinged Hanakiv to still tap into those dramatic Hauschka-esque moments on her follow-up. Electronic ambient experimentation will be present on the new album.
The single is a hypnotic beauty. It draws you in like a spectre and dances unnaturally around you. The piano is familiar, but it has a sense of forbidden fruit danger to it. A bit like being stung, and the initial throb of pain is kicking in. The sound palette of the album contains fellow Gondwana musician Milo Fitzpatrick from Portico Quartet.
Enjoy the “live session” version of Sunbeams on YouTube. The single is out now. ‘Interlude’ is available for pre-order on Bandcamp.
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The move to bring lyrics and structured vocals into the mix on Interlude feels like a genuine risk after a debut that stayed mostly wordless; the description of Sunbeams as a way to process grief through hazy layers over prepared piano and plucked strings suggests she’s not just adding a voice for novelty but letting it carry emotional weight that the keys alone couldn’t quite reach. The “forbidden fruit danger” in the piano phrasing stands out—it’s a vivid way to capture that pull between hypnotic beauty and something darker underneath, especially with the Gondwana connection bringing in those Portico Quartet-adjacent string touches.
It’s encouraging to see an artist expand the palette like this without abandoning the core intimacy of solo piano work; the ambient-electronic experiments hinted at could push her further into territory that’s still evolving in contemporary neoclassical circles. Curious how the Estonian titles and the overall liminal feel translate across the full tracklist. Solid announcement that makes the March release something to look forward to.