Howard Jones Returning to His Roots With PIANO COMPOSED

03-14-2025

(HGM) Howard Jones is again returning to his roots as a classically-trained pianist with the forthcoming release of PIANO COMPOSED. Due out May 23rd via Cherry Red, the offering features 10 brand new piano-based compositions and will be available in two formats, each having different inspirations/origin stories. The limited edition 180 gram heavyweight vinyl version, PIANO COMPOSED IVORY, also includes a 36-page illustrated booklet containing musical transcriptions of five of the ten pieces as well as an illustrated inner sleeve featuring notes by Jones himself. The standard CD version, PIANO COMPOSED SPIRIO, features the 10 ten tracks reimagined and alternatively sequenced.

PIANO COMPOSED is Howard Jones' third piano-based composition album. Encouraged by his good friend, composer and technologist, BT, the ten pieces were created during Covid lockdown on his Steinway D piano and would subsequently become PIANO COMPOSED IVORY. PIANO COMPOSED SPIRIO features the same tracks reimagined and resequenced via Jones' new Steinway Spirio, which allowed him to add multiple octaves and create pieces that couldn't be played without five or six hands. The result is a kind of evolution of the original IVORY pieces.

Of PIANO COMPOSED, Howard Jones commented, "The piano is the first instrument I started playing when I was seven and it's like I've spent the whole of my life playing piano. During Covid I thought it was about time that I made an album of piano pieces but this time I wanted the compositions to be more considered rather than purely improvised which I had done before. I started composing with my ivory piano software and was able to do lots of editing to the pieces and experiment with arrangements. I was pleased and had the work mastered and pressed some vinyl and I thought that was gonna be it. Then at Steinway's in London they kindly let me spend a day with a Spirio piano in their showroom. I brought my laptop and ran the IVORY compositions through the piano and was blown away with the possibilities of this modern-day player piano. So you have two versions of these compositions: PIANO COMPOSED IVORY available on vinyl and PIANO COMPOSED SPIRIO available on CD."

Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones has been a constant presence on the international touring scene for the past four decades, playing live in a number of different configurations including intimate solo shows and dates with his full high-tech band set-up. He first burst upon the contemporary music scene in 1983, with his very English songwriting and pioneering synthesizers with "New Song". His first two albums HUMAN'S LIB and DREAM INTO ACTION were worldwide hits. HUMAN'S LIB reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits "New Song," and "What Is Love?" In 1985, Jones released the follow-up, DREAM INTO ACTION, which quickly became a Top Ten Platinum album in the United States and featured the smashes: "Things Can Only Get Better," "Life In One Day," "No One Is To Blame," and "Like To Get To Know You Well."

Howard Jones has sold upwards of 10 million albums worldwide and continues to make new music and tour the world. Jones has performed on NBC's top-rated morning and nighttime shows respectively, Today and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. His ubiquitous hits can be heard in such high-profile television series and films such as "Stranger Things," "Breaking Bad," "Watchmen," "The Carrie Diaries", "Superstore" and "Bumblebee". Howard Jones' most recent studio album is DIALOGUE, which was released in September, 2022. DIALOGUE is the third album in a trilogy of electronic releases from Jones with multi-media project ENGAGE coming out in 2015 and studio album TRANSFORM out in 2019. DIALOGUE garnered serious coverage in outlets such as Spin, Stereogum and more.

PIANO COMPOSED IVORY track listing:

SIDE ONE
1. Five Pianos
2. The Way You Choose To See It
3. Everything Is Connected
4. Cherish Life
5. It's Great To See You Smile Again
SIDE TWO
1. It's In Your Hands
2. Winter Always Turns To Spring
3. Finding The Silver Lining
4. Hope Is A Decision
5. Turning Poison Into Medicine

PIANO COMPOSED SPIRIO track listing:

1. The Way You Choose To See It
2. Everything Is Connected
3. Finding The Silver Lining
4. Hope Is A Decision
5. Turning Poison Into Medicine
6. It's In Your Hands
7. Five Pianos
8. Cherish Life
9. Winter Always Turns To Spring
10. It's Great To See You Smile Again