Heikki Hallanoro – “Soul Songs”

4th most listened Finnish pianist (Spotify 12/2023) releases solo piano album from legendary Mons Records

”Intimate & emotional (…) pure sincerity”
— Active Light Records, Canada

”Soul’s melody hums, echoes of heart’s true song, harmony within.”
— Piano Haiku

Finland’s only Piano Balladist, Heikki Hallanoro, makes a strong melodic mark with his sensitive and delicate piano pieces that are delivered with such a tenderness and bold simplicity that it is not just beautiful but simply – shines truth.

Heikki, once a promising astronomer who discovered the origins of Saturn’s rings, a boy of an alcoholic mother who has no classical training, but who has played his own songs on piano since a little boy and makes his living playing live his ennobling and relaxing Piano Ballads, got immediately signed with his first piano solo album by legendary jazz/classical record company Mons Records, a label that has released albums from such artists as Clark Terry (trumpetist of Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington), Manu Katché (drummer of Sting, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell) and Bob Mintzer (saxophonist of Buddy Rich, Jaco Pastorius, Tito Puente), among others.

Soul Songs – spells in form of music

“These songs are not pretentious, they don’t try to make impression, they just are. They come and go – and do they magic. I see it live every week.”, says Heikki. He does not sit in the study and compose, instead he walks and sometimes “receives”. For example Soul Song No. 3 he got when walking Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route in Japan. “Music comes when one is open and experiences the world around. That’s why I don’t make music anymore by force, I’m not interested to songs that I get that way. Less is infinitely much more.” Heikki regards Soul Songs as sacred songs, they even helped him to overcome deep depression and have relaxed tens of thousands people live and online (for example Soul Song No. 6 has almost 30 000 streams in 2 months in Spotify).

Bon Voyage!

Soul Songs album comprises 8 felt piano pieces that unite minimalistic modern classical idiom and Arvo Pärt kind of quietness and spirituality. Soul Songs are not named but numbered (Soul Song No. 1, Soul Song No. 2, etc.), but they paint vivid scenes. “My intension was to create safe and comforting space for listener to embark on inner journey.” Heikki didn’t want to name the songs and direct listeners impression any way since he knew from own experience that same song can evoke different emotions and memories at different times. “Songs are continuous and ever-evolving, and they work like magic, since so are we.”

Old piano like mother elephant

On Soul Songs album Heikki plays over 100 years old piano. It has extremely dark sound, behaves like a mother elephant, who remembers too many graveyards. Recordings were engineered by the studio guru Pentti Amore with 3 gold albums and a the most sold physical album in Finland 2020. Pentti also mixed and mastered the album. “Presence of both of them, Piano and Heikki, in this album is unbelievable. The setup is so sensitive – it captures all.” — Pentti Amore

Soul Songs are Heikki Hallanoro’s life’s work

Soul Songs album series will continue. Soul Songs Vol. 2 is already recorded. In Soul Songs album series the even albums (Soul Songs Vol. 2, Soul Songs Vol. 4, etc.) are happy “spring/summer” albums and odd albums (Soul Songs, Soul Songs Vol. 3, etc.) are more melancholic “winter” albums with darker hues in them.