Prehension

Composer and performer Joep Beving, one of the most listened-to living pianists in the world, is joining Deutsche Grammophon to release his new album ‘Prehension’ on 7th April.
Dutch musician Joep (pronounced ‘Yoop’) is a towering figure in the streaming world – and in real life too, thanks to his two-metre frame (nearly 6’10), wild hair and flowing beard. He has become a one-man success story – writing, recording and releasing his debut album ‘Solipsism’ (now available digitally on DG) which has been streamed nearly 60 million times.
Joep’s delicate melodies instantly struck a chord with listeners when tracks from the album first appeared on streaming music playlists alongside the likes of Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm.
“I call it ‘simple music for complex emotions’,” says Joep, summing up its universal appeal. “The world is a hectic place right now and I feel a deep urge to reconnect on a basic human level with people in general. Music as our universal language has the power to unite.”
Each track on ‘Solipsism’ was recorded at dead of night in the kitchen of his home in Amsterdam, while his partner and two young daughters slept, played on the German piano he had been left by his late grandmother.
Finally the music reached the ears of DG when a friend of Joep’s played the album in her local bar in Berlin – where one of the label’s executives happened to be – and ended up in a signing with the world’s foremost classical label.
The first fruits of the new partnership are ‘Prehension’. A natural successor to ‘Solipsism,’ it carries forward the musical and philosophical themes Joep identifies in his music. Understated, haunting and melancholic, its delicate melodies will help soothe the soul.