British composer and pianist Roger Eno returns with Without Wind / Without Air, his most personal and emotionally revealing work to date. Released today via Deutsche Grammophon, the album combines solo piano meditations with richly orchestrated arrangements for clarinet, strings, synths, percussion, and electronics, creating a sound world that’s both intimate and cosmic. “It’s the most honest album I’ve ever made,” says Eno.
On Without Wind / Without Air, Eno continues his exploration of stillness and fragility — themes that have long defined his music — but adds a new layer of introspection and environmental reflection. The title, borrowed from Italian songwriter Pier Luigi Andreoni, took on deeper meaning for Eno as he contemplated the planet’s vulnerability. “It became a warning,” he explains, “a vision of a terribly bleak future — if any future at all.”
The record features a stunning ensemble of collaborators: Grace Davidson’s crystalline soprano, Cecily and Lotti Eno’s tender harmonies, and Eno’s own rare vocal performance on “The Moon and the Sea.” The Scoring Berlin strings, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, elevate three pieces with cinematic depth, while producer Christian Badzura contributes both performance and co-writing on the opening “Forgiveness” and closing “After Rain.”
Tracks like “Spell” and “The Final Year of Blossom” reveal Eno’s mastery of space and silence — his piano melodies suspended like breath between moments of tension and release. The title track, with its stormy dissonances and piercing clarinet lines, captures the album’s central theme: the fragility of life and the inevitability of change. A limited-edition vinyl pressing includes an artcard featuring Eno’s abstract mayfly painting — a symbol, he notes, “of how transient our lives are.”
“I thought I had to do something different for this album,” Eno reflects. “The world has changed in a way that I really don’t like, and I felt it would be disingenuous not to include that. I’m reluctant to show myself in my work, but this album takes the veil off.”
Track Listing:
- Forgiveness
- Spell
- There Was a Ship (feat. Cecily Eno)
- The Moon and the Sea
- The Final Year of Blossom
- Without Wind / Without Air
- Mayfly
- Before the Fall
- Under Glass
- After Rain