Hania Rani, for those of you lucky enough to get to discover her work, is a Polish composer and musician who made her Opera House debut on the 26th of February this year. Rani is not an easy musician to explain, whilst there are elements of ambient, classical, jazz, electronica and even house in her work, it is a sound that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Her 2023 release, Ghosts, which had her citing diverse references such as The Smile, Pink Floyd and even to Enya, has become a revered record. The sonic cosmic landscape she imagines on the record, is expanded and developed through her live performance.
There was an intoxicated reverence in the concert hall as Rani began her performance, yet it was welcoming. Although classically trained, Rani does not intimidate her audience with unnecessary virtuosic details, rather lets the strength of her melodies carry her intention. She seamlessly slid across an upright piano, a grand and two electronic keyboards, creating a tapestry of ideas that were beautifully mirrored by the visuals behind her.
Previously, I would have predominantly though of her as a pianist primarily but the strength of her voice live on Dancing with Ghosts changed my opinion on that, whilst some could describe her voice as fragile, it filled the concert hall with ease and sat gracefully on top of her playing.
Rani punctuated her set with short breaks to allow the entirety of her songs to be absorbed, perhaps the most poignant part of this was the space she allowed before performing Don’t Break my Heart, the percussive rhythm underneath her vocals really changed the direction after a short pause. Ahead of her outro performance, Rani performed It Comes In Waves, which I would highly encourage you to listen to the version of on her 2024 live record, Nostalgia.
For those who unfortunately missed her, Nostalgia might be the salve required, and provide and insight into the prolific performer and some small suggestions as to what may come next.
If you're looking to catch Hania Rani while she's on tour in Australia, she has one final show at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Theatre, as part of Adelaide Festival this Saturday 1 March. Tickets are still available via Ticketek.
