Pianist Brad Kella Sets Debut Album 'Phoebe's Melody'

Liverpudlian virtuoso pianist Brad Kella has announced his debut album ‘Phoebe’s Melody’, released 6th June on Modern Sky UK, a remarkable album from a unique artist with an equally remarkable story. Listen to a new single from the album below.

When Brad Kella won Channel 4’s The Piano, he knew his life would change forever. And so it has proved. From being homeless and playing street pianos to make ends meet, he’s now living out his childhood dream of performing his own music to audiences of thousands in the world’s greatest concert halls. ‘It’s been the best feeling in the entire world,’ he says from his Liverpool home, where he lives with his partner and two young children. ‘If I could put that feeling from those shows into a bottle and sell it, I’d be a billionaire.’

One of music’s most extraordinary, inspiring and freethinking talents, Brad’s career has taken off since he was named the winner by superstar pianists Lang Lang and Mika. He has signed with the independent record label Modern Sky, appeared at Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall and performed his own sell-out show at Liverpool’s famed Philharmonic Hall – a real pinch-me moment. ‘I let the audience know I’m just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dreams have come true. The audience got behind me so well – you can’t beat a Scouse home crowd. It was like my own classical version of Anfield.’

Brad could ‘create an album a day, just because I love creating music,’ he says – and he’s poured his heart into his debut album. Playing his own pieces for eight hours from memory, he recorded it in London’s RAK studios, in collaboration with top string players and British orchestrator Rosie Danvers, who has worked with the likes of Coldplay, Jay-Z and Adele. ‘The album is something I’m so proud of. It’s sounding much bigger and better than I could have anticipated. Each piece is a reflection of a moment in my life, a step-by-step musical illustration.

Titled ‘Phoebe’s Melody’ in honour of his two daughters, who gave Brad ‘a huge amount of determination to get to a situation where I record an album’, the recording opens with the stirring ‘Home to Me’. It captures the moment Brad started to feel comfortable and safe with his foster parents Eve and Frank, who are the subject of their own song, which Brad played on The Piano. Both songs were released as singles last year.  

A self-taught musician, Brad has his own unconventional approach that sets him apart in a classical world ruled by scores and traditions. He puts that down to playing from his heart and soul, rather than from reading printed music. ‘If I read music, that means I’m sat in front of someone else’s music, which immediately takes away huge amounts of creativity in the process,’ he says. ‘It puts me under immense pressure when I have to go on for a concert in front of thousands with no music in front of me. I think the pressure of it sparks amazing moments during the performance. Sometimes I’ll change a certain melody on the spot, and no one is expecting it.’

Brad absorbs wide-ranging influences into his broadly neo-classical style, and hopes his music will be played by others both today and in generations to come. In the past, he played a keyboard and, later upgraded to an electric piano, funded by a government scheme. Now he has a Steinway upright, given to him by Channel 4’s The Piano. ‘It just sounds absolutely perfect. It’s got so many more dynamics and it’s such a gorgeous instrument. It’s changed my composing.’

Brad announced the album’s release at a special event last Friday 28 March at The Beatles Story in Liverpool, where he gave a one-off performance playing pieces from the album on the last piano owned by John Lennon.

Live Dates Supporting Gary Barlow:

17 April           Isle of Man, Villa Marina
18 April           Isle of Man, Villa Marina
20 April           Kilarney, INEC
22 April           Belfast, Waterfront
23 April           Belfast, Waterfront
25 April           Dublin, 3Olympia
26 April           Dublin, 3Olympia
28 April           Liverpool, Empire Theatre
29 April           Liverpool, Empire Theatre
1 May              Cardiff, Utilita Arena
2 May              Wolverhampton, The Halls
3 May              Wolverhampton, The Halls
5 May              Blackpool, Opera House
6 May              Blackpool, Opera House
8 May              Manchester, O2 Apollo
9 May              Manchester, O2 Apollo
12 May            London, Royal Albert Hall
13 May            London, Royal Albert Hall
15 May            Brighton, Centre
16 May            Bournemouth, BIC
19 May            Sheffield, City Hall
20 May            Sheffield, City Hall
22 May            Stockton, Globe
23 May            Stockton, Globe
24 May            Aberdeen, P&J Live
26 May            Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
27 May            Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
29 May            Edinburgh, Usher Hall
30 May            Dundee, Caird Hall
31-May            Dundee, Caird Hall
2 June             Newcastle, O2 City Hall
3 June             Newcastle, O2 City Hall
5 June             Leicester, De Montfort Hall
6 June             Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
7 June             Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall

Photo Credit: John Johnson