biography

Two years after It’s a Long Way to Happiness, his critically acclaimed first album that has racked up more than twenty million streams, pianist Alban Claudin returns on September 8, 2023 with Room of Reflection. This enchanting second album confirms his unique feel for playing and his art of melody.

While his first opus was conceived as an open voyage to nature and the world, this second album is more personal, questioning our identity in society and how we can step back and know who we are in a world overflowing with images.

Born and raised in Burgundy (a region renowned for its excellent wines), Alban Claudin remembers a piano’s discreet presence in the living room of the family house. He will soon sit at the keyboard and get into storytelling, four chords, and a melody shaping a simple but already complete composition. In his teenage years when not pounding the keys of the piano, he played football, his second passion; after spending two years at the prestigious AJ Auxerre training center (where Eric Cantona got his start), music won out, and as soon as he graduated from the conservatory, he became a professional musician. A great admirer of Ravel (“whom I listen to at least once a day”, he says), Bartok, Beach House, or Tame Impala, Alban is also a connoisseur of electronic keyboards and a drummer. His musical versatility and technique made him a sought-after instrumentalist on stage or in the studio with preeminent French artists, with Mika for exceptional concerts, and with the violinist Esther Abrami for whom he wrote “Sunken Dreams”, a piece they recorded as a duet for Sony Music.

After scoring documentaries and short films and collaborating with prestigious brands (Van Cleef & Arpels, Chanel, Vuitton…), he composed his first original soundtrack in 2022 for French director Guillaume Gouix’s first film, “Amore Mio”. He is currently working on several projects combining music and images.

Alban’s live performances are a joy to behold: embodying his world of often immediately familiar melodies with humility and humor, he is also capable of unbridled improvisations and unexpected variations on well-known themes… Since the release of his first album, he has performed in Paris, Brussels (Le Botanique), England (London Jazz Festival and Womad), opened for Woodkid at Les Nuits de Fourvière, King of Convenience at La Philarmonie (Days Off Festival, Paris)…

As the French television journalist Edouard Bonnamour puts it, “Alban Claudin is an inspired composer who can send shivers down your spine with just a few notes; his music touches the purest emotions and appeals to everyone of all ages. Room of Reflection is a refuge that promises serene and joyful escapes”.

MY MUSIC YOUR ROOM

Initiated by the Masterworks label and produced by a Sony Music video team, My Music Your Room is a series of short videos for social networks that have been posted regularly since the release of the album Room of Reflection.

The idea is for Alban to visit your home and perform a piece from his album – only for you and in front of you – in your favorite spot in your room. With his electronic piano under his arms, he shares unique and often moving moments with people who have come to one of his concerts and have left their contact details to receive him.

Given the excellent response to the first 8 episodes, a second series was filmed at the beginning of January 2024.