Ludovico Einaudi – 12 Songs from Home: A beautifully candid lockdown soundtrack

Raw, emotional and ambient, this lockdown has finally found its soundtrack in Ludovico Einaudi’s 12 Songs from Home. The collection of Einaudi’s best compositions was recorded entirely on his iPhone from his home in Italy during the height of the nation’s pandemic.

“I recorded 12 Songs from Home between March and April 2020 during the peak of Italy’s lockdown. In March I started to play live concerts regularly on social media,” the composer explained in a recent statement. “Switching on my phone to connect for 30-40 minutes with the world has been a beautiful and intimate alternative to the spring tour that I regrettably had to postpone. This new release is the memory of those home live concerts, my memory of this time, the memory of a strange and new atmosphere that we won’t forget.”

The album features a compilation of some of the artist’s most notable work, such as Nuvole Bianche, which Einaudi accompanies with a video of his intimate home performance on an out-of-tune upright piano. An hour and nine minutes long, the collection exudes a deep sense of solemnity, coupled with uplifting bridges, that perfectly reflects the current global environment.

The lack of studio-quality sound, the background noises, even the cover art – drawn by the composer himself – give the album a beautifully unvarnished and candid realism, perfect for quiet afternoons and empty evenings spent at home.

Kari Megeed
Photo: Ray Tarantino

12 Songs from Home is released by Decca Records on 8^th May 2020. For further information or to order the album visit Ludovico Einaudi’s website here.

Watch the video for Nuvole Bianche here: