Hauschka to release new album What If on vinyl

The record features player pianos and art erasers.

Following his collaborative Oscar-nominated score for Lion, Volker Bertelmann aka Hauschka will release a solo album, What If, on Temporary Resistance.

Next: VF Mix 56 – Hauschka’s vinyl mixtape

Billed as “his most ingenious album yet,” What If adds player pianos to his arsenal and deploys unusual objects – including art erasers – to treat the instruments. Hauschka programmed the player pianos to exploit their speeds and adjust the resulting sounds.

“What If redefines the very notion of piano music in dramatic and exceptional fashion,” says the label. “It stands as a rebuttal to those who lazily shoehorn Hauschka’s work into the so-called, uncomfortably broad ‘new classical’ category, and instead underlines his status as a unique and invaluable artist.”

Hear for yourself below and pre-order the album, which lands 24 March, here.

01. I Can’t Find Water

02. Constant Growth Fails

03. My Kids Live On Mars

04. I Need Exile

05. I Can’t Express My Deep Love

06. Nature Fights Back

07. Familiar Things Disappear

08. Trees Only Exist In Books

09. We Live a Thousand Years

01. Egos Are Detached

02. Knowledge Is Passed On