Moving Images Emil Friis

• Emil Friis (b. 1977): Through Air:
• 1 Friis: Through Air 02:06
• For Goodbyes:
• 2 Friis: For Goodbyes 04:40
• Dancing:
• 3 Friis: Dancing 01:42
• An Upward Motion:
• 4 Friis: An Upward Motion 01:39
• Five Corners of Blue:
• 5 Friis: Five Corners of Blue 03:09
• Miscellaneous Trio for Viola:
• 6 Friis: Miscellaneous Trio for Viola 01:50
• Movement of Dawn:
• 7 Friis: Movement of Dawn 01:28
• Zero:
• 8 Friis: Zero 02:07
• Spirit of the Mind:
• 9 Friis: Spirit of the Mind 02:14
• Eternal Daydream:
• 10 Friis: Eternal Daydream 02:02
• Shape of Solace:
• 11 Friis: Shape of Solace 01:09
• By the Sea:
• 12 Friis: By the Sea 01:57
• Sunlight on the Beams of Hollow:
• 13 Friis: Sunlight on the Beams of Hollow 03:19
• Dim/Fading:
• 14 Friis: Dim/Fading 01:45
• Like Leaves:
• 15 Friis: Like Leaves 03:02
• Total Runtime 34:09

Info for Moving Images

Moving Images invites the audience to explore the deep connections between sound and imagery, encouraging an introspective journey where the boundaries blur between classical music, cinematic storytelling, and mental imagery.

Spanning sombre chamber pieces, ominous yet hopeful and hypnotic ambiances, soft solo piano interludes, poetic and playful flutes, to tension-laced cinematic strings and synths, Emil Friis' latest work transcends the conventional album release. The project expands into a collaboration with a group of filmmakers, exploring how music and film intertwine to provoke our interpretation, the sound we experience and our internal narratives.

​Each track is paired with a corresponding film, with the filmmakers — including Kevin Brooks, Shaun Hart, Morgan Jon Fox, and Jonathan Meyers — being invited to bring their individual vision to each composition. The filmmakers had the freedom to interpret the music through their own lenses, creating a dialogue between sound and visuals. In the lead-up to the album’s official release, four films will be released alongside the tracks, with the remaining films debuting intermittently after the album’s launch. The audience is encouraged to consider how, and why, their own internal imagery is shaped by the music, whilst inadvertently forging a personal connection to each piece.

​Composed by Friis in his Copenhagen studio, the compositions, which subtly reflect the complexities of the human condition, were largely born out of improvisation, often starting at the piano or synthesizer. Through his typically minimalist approach, Friis weaves an intricate tapestry of textures and emotions to create a deeply layered, cinematic sound world.

Featuring contributions from other musicians, notably renowned string player Davide Rossi, the music is characterized by a delicate interplay between brightness and a somber beauty, with melodies that often seem to converse with each other across the different instruments. At times, the pieces feel lonely and introspective; at others, they soar to magnificent heights, filled with warmth and fervor. Despite their brevity, the compositions resonate with a poignant emotional intensity.

​Accompanying the music, the album’s artwork and the visuals for the individual singles feature illustrations by Friis’ wife, Julie de Tengnagel, adding a personal and evocative touch to the visual aspect of the project.

Emil Friis, piano

Emil Friis
is a Danish, Copenhagen based composer, working within the realm of music for film and recorded works. Through his lack of formal training Friis has created a musical language filled with sensibility, tension, brightness and somber beauty. Utilizing many of the instruments within the orchestra, but always intertwined with an array of different machines for processing and synthesis, his work is characterized by its ability to mirror the human condition.

His early voyage into music was established between the grooves of his father’s vinyl collection, where legends like Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley spun folk tales, which kindled in him a profound adoration for narrative-infused melodies. Today, he finds continued inspiration in the sincere minimalism of Gavin Bryars’ compositions. But also, the works of masters like Johan Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven and Jeff Bridges and Keefus Ciancia’s grossly underrated work Sleeping Tapes influence his artistry.

Throughout his career as a film composer he has had the privilege of scoring notable film and TV projects, frequently working alongside award winning filmmakers such as Morgan Jon Fox, Kevin Brooks, Shaun Hart and Jannik Splidsboel. As a recording artist he has released a number of albums, among them the ambient long players Songs From The Deep and Untitled Dreams as well as the piano work Mirrors and the stand out score to Undersea, to name a few.

His compositions, whether ambient or gently emotive, balancing both light and shadow, have been touched by the talents of musicians like Davide Rossi and Bobby Furgo (Leonard Cohen) among others. In addition to his composer work he is also a curious analog photographer.

Moving Images, his solo debut for influential British label 130701 is slated for release in late summer 2025. Not solely a music release, it bridges Friis’ music and films by an array of mainly American filmmakers.

This album contains no booklet.