Polish-born British composer and pianist, Greg Kozakiewicz, has just released his second album, Sonder.
The meaning of the word Sonder is the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and as complex as your own.
The album was born from the isolation of the pandemic lockdown, where Kozakiewicz reflected on how the era of technology meant people could still influence each other despite the distance between them.
“We live in strange times. The pandemic altered the way we relate to the world, nature and everything around us. Our lives slowed down and the noise of daily life faded out… The age of communication removed boundaries and let us passively absorb other people’s lives and be influenced by them in a positive or negative way. People live much more interesting lives than we think.”
– Greg Kozakiewicz
These philosophical concepts are the basis of this instrumental album. Despite the strong emotion behind it, the soft piano offers the flexibility of drifting through as background music, or offering a story to be tuned into and interpreted by the listener.
For me, I found there to be a nostalgic or bittersweet quality to the music. Specifically in the track Lucy. Having never heard the song before, I can’t explain why it transported me to the feeling of returning to my childhood home. I think that’s the magic of music.
Silent Sirens was a track that, as the name suggests, reminded me of the alarming nature of the pandemic, which was contrasted by the silence of the streets as everyone isolated themselves.
Despite the various interpretations an album can have, Sonder is one that brings everyone on the same page; you’re not suffering alone. Not only in the pandemic, but in life generally. Everyone feels pain, but Kozakiewicz reminds us that that’s where you find poetry too.
Sit back and listen to Sonder below on Spotify, or on Apple Music.
Find out more on Greg’s website and Instagram.
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NZ Film Freak 