After recently releasing his debut single "Nostos," from his upcoming debut album II (out April 8 on Arts & Crafts), Montreal-based pianist Jean-Michel Blais has shared the accompanying music video. Directed by Jason Rodi, with drone footage by Antoine Leger, the clip contains some National Geographic-worthy imagery of glaciers and seaways set to the French-Canadian artist's appropriately stark composition."In Greek literature nostos is a theme whereby the hero returns home by sea following a series of trials. The final section of James Joyce's epic Ulysses is titled 'Nostos' wherein the protagonist returns to a home he imagines hasn't changed. Thematically, nostos represents a longing for the past, a nostalgia," the pianist explains. "In our times of climate change, when our environment is quickly becoming unfamiliar, what has become of that home? The ocean is raging, the icebergs are melting, sea levels are rising. Our longing for home, for a 'return to the same,' is it even possible? What are we longing for?"Catch Jean-Michel Blais April 8 at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario, and April 28 at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 in NYC, he's also releasing a virtual concert in honor of Nils Frahm's Piano Day on March 28 (more details here).Jean-Michel Blais is on Facebook // Twitter
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