New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Dutch pianist Joep Beving's new single "Sleeping Lotus-Tom Trago's Sixtine Remix'" is out now. The track is the second from Beving's upcoming album Conatus, which is set for release
September 7 via Deutsche Grammophon. Joep Beving released his first single "Hanging D-Cello Octet Amsterdam" last week.
Conatus is made up of reworked pieces from Beving's first two albums, Solipsism and Prehension, as well as a rework version of a track from his to-be-announced third album of originals. For the project, Beving invited a range of artists he knows and admires to each reimagine one of his pieces, resulting in a full album of new and original interpretations of his work. The roster includes iconic synth artist Suzanne Ciani, CFCF,Tom Trago, Eefje de Visser, Colin Benders,
Andrea Belfi and
Thomas Bloch, in addition to the acclaimed Cello Octet Amsterdam.
The title of the record comes from the philosophical concept of conatus, an innate inclination of a thing to continue to exist and enhance itself. "If you see music as a living organism, then it's something that will always adapt to new circumstances in order to stay present," says Beving. "This project is not about me. It is about the conatus of my music and for this album I've put their lives in other people's hands." In addition to approaching legendary American electronic music pioneer Ciani, Beving was keen to involve other musicians from his native Netherlands. "They're all people I think easily hold their own on the international scene," he says.
Hailing from the Netherlands, Beving is a composer and pianist. At 14, he made his live musical debut at his town's local jazz festival. While deciding what to pursue a career in, Beving was torn between music and politics. He began studying piano at the Conservatoire, but he was forced to abandon his studies due to a wrist injury and pursued an Economics degree instead. After building a successful career in advertising, Beving found his love for music and the piano once again on a trip to Cannes Lions Festival as a result of an impromptu performance at the grand piano in a hotel lobby.
Encouraged by the response from this and several other small performances for his close friends, Beving decided to pursue his dream of making a solo album. Over the next three months, he wrote and recorded songs in his kitchen at night while his family was asleep in the next room. The result was his debut album, Solipsism. Songs from the album were featured on Spotify's "Peaceful Piano" playlist, and soon after the album went viral. Beving performed the album on prime-time Dutch television shows and at a solo recital at Amsterdam's famous Concertgebouw. He was later signed to Deutsche Grammophon, where he released his second album, Prehension, in 2017. After sold out shows in America,
Europe and The Sydney Opera House earlier this year, Beving is set to complete his North American solo recital tour coming fall.
JOEP BEVING LIVE
June 10-Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands-Best Kept Secret
June 15-Oslo, Norway-Piknik Parken
October 23-Los Angeles, CA-Lodge Room
October 25-Portland, OR-The Old Church
October 26-Seattle, WA-Nordstrom Recital Hall
October 27-Vancouver, Canada-Biltmore Cabaret
October 29-Minneapolis, MN-The Cedar Cultural Center
October 30-Chicago, IL-Constellation
November 1-Montréal, Canada-Theatre Fairmount
November 2-Brooklyn, NY-National Sawdust
