Solipsism album artwork
Solipsism
“Solipsism” is the debut album of composer and pianist Joep Beving. The title refers to the philosofical and metaphysical idea that reality only exists in one’s mind. Everything outside of it, the external world and the minds of others cannot truly be known and hence do not exist. Beving’s music is an experiment in existential communication, a hopeful belief in an absolute aesthetic, that should proof a universal and metaphysical reality does exist.
Joep Beving:
"Going back to the moment Solipsism happened to me. I was kind of lost in those days. Feeling more and more alienated from reality and the world at large. A lot of things didn’t make sense to me anymore and I turned to the piano to basically find some tranquility of mind and some form of essence. Out came music that I had never played before in my life and that struck me by surprise in a way. I had a moment where I realised I had lost fear and didn’t really think of myself anymore. It just felt like this music was like a gift and that it was beyond me. I knew I wanted to find a way to reconnect with others and had a hope that this was possible through music. Some things are just very difficult to put into words and music can be the language to speak to that non-rational place, the intuition or whatever you want to call it. When the album was finished I looked back at it and realized that it had been kind of a solipsistic experience. Solipsism being the philosophical idea that reality only exists in ones own mind, everything outside of it we can’t truly know and hence doesn’t exist. Of course this was not my believe, the opposite was my goal. To find a means of communication that would resonate with others, with humans in general. To find a version of reality that I and hopefully others could believe in and perhaps find some comfort and trust in. This was the experiment, I had nothing to loose and wasn’t too rationally involved in the process. Solipsism seemed like the right title for the album.
It didn’t become a hit overnight. I was extremely lucky some of the tracks were being picked up by Spotify and that brought me a worldwide audience of millions. Something I never dreamt would be possible. Of course deep down I had hopes it would travel and affect people, but initially it was mostly made for friends and family. To show them that I had been quiet but did have something to say. And now all of a sudden I was given the chance to make and perform music for others and hopefully create a life in music for myself and my family. But the thought that Solipsism had been a moment of sheer inspiration, something beyond my control, became very poignant and I kept myself glued to the piano in order not to loose the touch. I kept writing and more and more songs came out and before I knew it I had another album almost ready. And that’s when Deutsche Grammophon's Christian Badzura heard my first record in his favourite bar and contacted me."
Album Artwork & Concept by @RahiRezvani