Harnessing the pain and frustration of the gross injustices of the world and balancing it with a sense of hope, optimism, and activism – along with a search for meaningful change – has all funnelled into Yann Tiersen’s recent music. The result is Rathlin from a Distance | The Liquid Hour, one album in two intrinsically connected parts, each with its own distinct sonic identity.

Rathlin from a Distance – named after an island in Northern Ireland – comprises eight solo piano tracks that feel almost hypnotic, such are their immersive characteristics. Each track is named after a place that Yann visited on his 2023 sailing tour, from the Fastnet Lighthouse in the Atlantic Ocean to the Faroe Islands through Shetland, ending in the calm waters of the Caledonian Canal, which connects the east and west coasts of Scotland.

"There is something transformative about being at sea. Away from the noise and weight of the world, you are left with the raw, untamed forces of nature—and yourself … The purity you can have at sea allows you to question who you are. To think about the energy of the ocean as a source of birth and death and where we come from. These thoughts are what shaped the piano tracks.” – Yann Tiersen