Niklas Paschburg

In the organizer's words:

A grand piano over a hundred years old, a remote house surrounded by the lush greenery of Brittany, no internet connection and a tape recorder. L'Écho de Bretagne, Niklas Paschburg's new EP, which will be released by Nettwerk Music Group in fall 2025, is a solo piano album - as essential as it is intense.

A work of silence, space and slowness. Music that does not strive for impact, but for truth.

If his previous work, Mexican Alps (2025), was the first time that the German composer and producer recorded an ambient-electronic album without his preferred instrument - the piano - L'Écho de Bretagne is a direct response to this absence.
"It was precisely the absence of the piano that awakened in me the need to create a new work that places this instrument, which is so important to me, at the center and fades out everything else," explains Niklas.

Born in 1994, Paschburg has forged a musical path over the years that is deeply connected to travel, nature and introspection.
From his debut Tuur Mang Welten (2016) to Oceanic (2018), Svalbard (2020), Panta Rhei (2023) and Mexican Alps - as well as through soundtracks, remixes and collaborations with artists such as RY X, Hania Rani, Ásgeir and Bryan Senti - his sound combines neoclassical, electronic, ambient and pop-oriented composition.

With L'Écho de Bretagne, the Hamburg-born and Berlin-based musician continues his exploration by seeking solitude in nature, as he did with Svalbard - but this time even more radically: he disconnected completely from the internet, switching off his computer and smartphone to fully immerse himself in his new music.
"I rented an old country house in Paimpol in Brittany because I knew there was a grand piano there," he explains. "When I arrived, it turned out that the piano was not only over a hundred years old, but was also from an unknown brand, had never been restored and was quite difficult to play. But that's what gave it its unique character, and I didn't give up. Sure, you couldn't play anything too fast on it. But how fascinating was that? I am convinced that limitations can be an extraordinary source of inspiration when composing - far more than total freedom."

Niklas also describes the decision to temporarily detach himself from his "constantly connected" life as a creative and human experiment.
"I had my laptop and cell phone with me - just in case - but they stayed switched off. This decision led me to record L'Écho de Bretagne completely analog - also in terms of technology." A kind of mental cleansing.
"I don't think I've ever been as calm as I was during those days in Paimpol. Although I was working on a very specific project and hardly had any time, this time was more relaxing than any vacation."

However, things didn't go completely smoothly. "I had a small tape recorder with me, which was easy to transport. But after I had recorded a session, I noticed that the sound was distorted, full of crackling. I panicked because I was far away from any town where I could find a technician. Fortunately, it turned out that the fault was with the old tapes I had brought with me. I only had to go online once to order new tapes. But that was only for a moment. After that, everything was switched off again."

While he was waiting for the new tapes, he found out by chance from a local UPS driver that the delivery had been taken to a neighboring village.
"Because my cell phone was off, I couldn't track the package. So I asked this driver, who didn't know anything at first. But from then on, we saw each other almost every day and talked... That's what being offline means: reconnecting with the people around you, even strangers. Through him, I eventually found out where the tapes had ended up - and he even helped me get them by writing directions on a piece of paper."

But there is another aspect that makes this EP special:
L'Écho de Bretagne was recorded entirely live - all the pieces are improvised, along with their imperfections.
This approach results in a sound that is pure, organic and authentic - deliberately left in such a way that the listener has the feeling of attending a live performance in their own living room .
The touch of the fingers on the keys, the breathing of the wood, the tension of the vibrating strings - everything becomes part of the music.
No construction, just expression.

"Even now, when I listen to it, I can feel this moment in which I allowed myself to withdraw from everything: from reality, from words, from noise."

The result is a collection of floating melodies and atmospheres that reflect a state of mind - a refuge from the hustle and bustle of time, a break from the world.

The Italian composer and violinist Laura Masotto will be supporting the band.