Two years after It’s a Long Way to Happiness, his critically acclaimed first album that has racked up more than twenty million streams, pianist Alban Claudin returns on September 8 with Room of Reflection, an enchanting second album that confirms his unique feel for playing and his art of melody.
While his first opus was conceived as an open voyage to nature and the world, this second album is more personal, questioning our identity in society and how we can step back and know who we are in a world overflowing with images.
Born and raised in Burgundy (a region renowned for its excellent wines), Alban Claudin remembers a piano’s discreet presence in the living room of the family house. He will soon seat at the keyboard and get into storytelling, four chords and a melody shaping a simple but already complete composition. In his teenage years when not pounding the keys of the piano, he played football, his second passion; after spending two years at the prestigious AJ Auxerre training center (where Eric Cantona got his start), music won out, and as soon as he graduated from the conservatory, he became a professional musician. A great admirer of Ravel (“whom I listen to at least once a day”, he says), Bartok, Beach House, or Tame Impala, Alban is also a connoisseur of electronic keyboards and a drummer. His musical versatility and technique make him a sought-after instrumentalist: on stage alongside French star Clara Luciani, with Mika for exceptional concerts, and in the studio with various artists including the violinist Esther Abrami for whom he wrote “Sunken Dreams”, a piece they recorded as a duet for Sony.
After scoring documentaries and short films, and collaborating with prestigious brands (Van Cleef & Arpels, Chanel, Vuitton…), he composed his first original soundtrack in 2022 for French director Guillaume Gouix’s first film “Amore Mio”.
Alban’s live performances are a joy to behold: embodying with humility and humor his world of often immediately familiar melodies, he is also capable of unbridled improvisations and unexpected variations on well-known themes. Since the release of his first album, he has performed in Paris, Brussels (Le Botanique), England (London Jazz Festival and Womad), opened for Woodkid at Les Nuits de Fourvière, King of Convenience at La Philarmonie (Days Off Festival, Paris)…
As the French television journalist Edouard Bonnamour puts it, “Alban Claudin is an inspired composer who can send shivers down your spine with just a few notes; his music touches the purest emotions and appeals to everyone of all ages. Room of Reflection is a refuge that promises serene and joyful escapes”.