Hey, dear reader! Lovely to see you here! 🥰

February feels extra special this year for me. How come? Well, according to the Chinese calendar, the Chinese New Year begins on February 17, welcoming the Year of the Horse 🐎 And by a lovely coincidence, “February 17th”is also the title of the second track on my 3rd solo album! 😉✨The horse is often associated with movement, freedom, energy, and journeys, which feels like a beautiful match for the whole album “Nordic Reflections” ❄️ Keep reading to discover the story behind the birth of the second tune from the album called “February 17th”!

 The story behind “February 17th”

This composition was born from thoughts of family — especially my dear sister, whose birthday falls on that very day ❤️ The day the piece was written was beautiful, wintery and snowy, the sun shimmering while frost gently nipped at the air. And yet, you could already feel that the light was slowly returning. I feel that this sense of light and renewal found its way into the hopeful melody of February 17th. I love the way playing this melody makes me feel! 😊✨

The piece began with what later became the A section, the melody that starts at 00:41 in the recording 🎶 It was a very simple idea at first, which I then developed step by step. If there’s anything I slightly regret in hindsight, it might be that I didn’t bring this melody back toward the end of the piece.

In the B section, I add something new with each repetition. This section first appears in the recording at 1:26 🎶 The piece is carefully thought through, with every section developed in detail. I also played with the idea of counter-melody, I love the music of Erki Pärnoja and Argo Vals, especially pieces where the melody reappears in a new form and in a much lower register, carried by the bass. Inspired by this, the section starting at 2:31 was born, where the bass slowly takes over the leading role and the melody moves into the left hand 🎹

I spent quite some time hesitating about how to end the piece. I wanted to bring back the A-section melody, but precisely because that is done so often, I decided not to. Instead, I found a slightly playful ending, experimenting with repetitions and octaves. It is cheeky and a little bit fun, at least to my ears 😁💫 The intro of the piece was actually composed last. I gathered the colours already present in the track and laid them out like a soft sonic carpet at the beginning, gently inviting the listener into the atmosphere of the piece 💙❄️

You can listen to the tune on your preferred streaming platform (e.g. Spotify, Apple Music). There is a video of a live performance of the tune, recorded during the first release concert in Rõuge one year ago on YouTube! ❤️🎶 If you’re curious watch this:

✈️ What’s happening next

February is flying by like a flapping duck! 🦆I’ll be travelling to Newcastle upon Tyne in England for a week to work on a new accordion duo with Heather Ferrier! Right after returning, we’ll head straight to Tallinn with Alterne to record our second album at Peeter Salmela’s studio 🎧 If you haven’t yet listened to Alterne’s debut album, you can find it on your favourite streaming platform, for example on Apple Music or Spotify ❤️