Olec Mün's new album is an exercise in understanding the past and healing in the present. The composer's grandparents were Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany for Argentina, where he was born and raised. 80 years after that initial flight, Mün is the first in two generations to return to Europe, now living in Spain. So Reconciliation is just that. It is therapy through narrative via upright piano. It is the artist's attempt to trace roots, preserve memory, mend something torn, and look toward the future.
Reconciliation is divided into two neat, thematic sections. The first four tracks tell the stories of Mün's aforementioned grandparents: Richard, Dora, Freddy, and Jetty. Each song feels delicate, as memories often do. Mün plays lightly, weaving in a lone field recording in Freddy. All four pieces are simple and beautiful, Dora serving as the lead single and Jetty standing out as the album's best track. Then the second part of the album (called "The Refugee's Journey) is divided into four movements: Exile, New Beginning, The Calling, and Reconciliation. The songs here are busier, perhaps the artist's intention in conveying a sense of movement and transformation. The album ends with Mün offering his own sung melody and a feeling of an optimistic future despite an uneasy present and threads still untied.
Reconciliation is beautiful as a piece of music, and powerful as an emotional artifact. It is speaks to something personal and specific, but can be applied universally. Composed and produced by Mün, mastered by the great Ian Hawgood, and released by the up-and-coming Lady Blunt Records, it is out September 25th. Below, you can listen to a sample, but the album is best when heard in its entirety. Make sure not to miss it.