Some journeys change the places we visit. Others change the way we listen.
Inspired by Pablo Montanelli's travels through India, Ananda is a solo piano album that explores movement, memory, gratitude, hope, and discovery through a collection of deeply personal compositions. While the title comes from the Sanskrit word often translated as joy or bliss, the music itself embraces a much wider emotional landscape.
Across these eight pieces, Montanelli draws from the many influences that have shaped his artistic life. His roots in Argentine tango remain present in the expressive phrasing and rhythmic vitality of works such as Esperanza and De Este a Oeste. Elsewhere, traces of blues, contemporary piano, flamenco colors, and cinematic storytelling emerge naturally, creating a musical language that feels both intimate and universal.
The opening title track unfolds with calm confidence before introducing one of the album's most memorable melodies. La Lluvia transforms repetition into momentum, while Aquella Tarde reveals a vibrant blues-infused energy. Melancolía de un Recuerdo balances nostalgia with strength, and Tokyo closes the journey with rhythmic drive and echoes of distant horizons.
Throughout the album, Pablo's playing is characterized by a rare balance of power and restraint. His performances carry energy and emotion without excess, allowing every melody to breathe while maintaining a clear sense of direction.
Originally composed as a reflection of personal experiences and encounters gathered along the road, Ananda is not simply an album about travel. It is an album about what remains with us after the journey ends.
Now remastered and reintroduced by Raighes Factory, Ananda offers a renewed opportunity to discover one of the most personal chapters in Pablo Montanelli's musical story.
TRACK BY TRACK
Ananda
Ananda opens the album with a calm and luminous atmosphere, slowly unfolding into a simple yet powerful melody. There is a cinematic quality in the way the piece grows, carried by Pablo Montanelli’s unmistakable touch and by melodic figures that feel clear, direct, and deeply expressive.
Fresh, positive, and full of quiet hope, the piece introduces the emotional world of the album with warmth and confidence.
La Lluvia
La Lluvia begins with a repeated piano figure that almost feels like an echo or delay, creating the sensation of falling drops and movement in the air. From this opening idea, the harmony expands with freshness and emotional energy.
The piece starts with simplicity, then develops naturally, revealing more color and depth as it moves forward. It is positive, expressive, and full of life, like rain becoming renewal.
Esperanza
Esperanza carries subtle echoes of tango without becoming a traditional tango piece. Its character is shaped by hope, searching, and movement, with the left hand creating a melodic arpeggiated foundation while the right hand answers with a clear, rhythmic motif.
The result is a piece that feels alive and determined, balancing repetition and emotion with a strong sense of direction.
Aquella Tarde
Aquella Tarde opens with a blues-colored feeling before growing into a strong, song-like form. Its melodies have a direct emotional presence, while the piano gradually gathers energy and movement.
As the piece develops, it moves toward a more vibrant rock-blues character, showing another side of Pablo Montanelli’s musical personality: expressive, grounded, and full of life.
Melancolía de un Recuerdo
Melancolía de un Recuerdo is one of the album’s most modern and neo-classical moments. Its melody is strong and memorable, carrying a melancholy that never becomes fragile or passive.
There is firmness in the emotion, a kind of hopeful melancholy shaped by hints of flamenco, Spanish phrasing, and tango-like cadences. The piece feels reflective, but also proud and alive.
De Este a Oeste
De Este a Oeste is a powerful and energetic tango, full of movement, technique, and expressive force. It carries the kind of rhythm that seems made for live performance, where the piano can lead dancers with intensity and emotion.
With trills, vivid phrasing, and impeccable pianistic control, Pablo Montanelli brings the spirit of tango to the solo piano with authority and fire. It is a piece only a true tango master could shape in this way.
Grateful
Grateful carries its title with sincerity. Built around a flowing arpeggiated accompaniment and a strong right-hand melody, the piece expresses gratitude without becoming overly delicate or sentimental.
As often happens in Pablo Montanelli’s playing, the energy is clear and present, yet always controlled. The music feels open, generous, and emotionally grounded.
Tokyo
Tokyo closes the album with energy, movement, and a distinctive sense of place. The piece suggests echoes of Japanese musical colors, with repeating figures that create a feeling of momentum, discipline, and brightness.
There is something almost ritualistic in its forward motion, perhaps recalling the focus and repetition of taiko rhythms or the flowing precision of traditional Japanese patterns, translated here into Pablo Montanelli’s solo piano language.
As a final track, Tokyo gives Ananda a strong and vivid conclusion, leaving the listener with a sense of movement, clarity, and open horizon.
