Pêtr Aleksänder
An alternative modern classical band comprising of Tom Hobden and Eliot James, Pêtr Aleksänder creates an expansive, cinematic, richly textured sound filled with strings and electronic undercurrents, alongside their ever-faithful, creaky old muted piano.
Early recordings such as Sans Souci quickly caught the attention of streaming services, the wider public and in turn, renowned indie label Nettwerk, who offered the band a record deal, signed in December 2017. The band released a music video for “Bells” in September 2017, featuring acclaimed dancer Jacob Lang, a finalist in the contemporary dance category of BBC Young Dancer 2017. A support tour with Norwegian singer Susanne Sundfør in October 2017 saw the band perform across the UK and in Sweden.
The band signed a publishing deal with Communion in late 2018 and released their debut album of instrumental modern classical music, "Closer, Still", on 29th March, 2019. Later that year the band went on to sell out a night at St. Pancras Old Church in London, where they were joined by Geowulf, performing the reimagined version of their song "Saltwater for Strings" and also by Rae Morris, performing an as-yet-unreleased reimagining of her song "Reborn". Other live shows in 2019 include joining Nitin Sawhney for the opening night of From The Source Festival at Warwick Arts Centre, and supporting RIDE at the Barbican in mid December.
Alongside releasing their own original material, the band have released a string of what they call "reimaginings" - reworkings of songs by other artists (Interpol, Mumford and Sons, Banfi and Geowulf) in which the band pair their own arrangements with only the original vocal of the song, thereby presenting the song in a whole new guise.
The band has also been involved in soundtracks for short films: joining forces with new directors Magnus McCullagh and Charlie Brafman, they scored their short film "The Rabbit's Foot". They also collaborated with Karel Van Bellingen in "From This Day Forward", starring Sheila Hancock, the title track of which enjoying notable success on streaming services.
On 1st May 2020, the band released "Clouds In The Mirror", a reimagining of RIDE's entire 2019 album This Is Not A Safe Place, gaining favourable reviews, a strong support from various streaming services as well as further recognition in the wider music industry.
Hot on the tail of "Clouds In The Mirror" followed two singles, "The Something Else" and “Copy, Echo, Mirage”, via Kin Records in preparation for the release of the "Another World" EP on 22nd May 2020, the band's follow-up to their debut album "Closer, Still".
The band have formed a special relationship with esteemed modern classical label Moderna Records, releasing the Triptych series for piano. Such was the positive reception for these pieces that the band released their 2nd album with Moderna, "Collage", in September 2021. The singles for this release were "Fireworks in G", "King's Cross" and "Cortège for Clouds", each receiving substantial editorial playlisting on Spotify and Apple Music.
Continuing their partnership with Moderna, in November 2022 the band released their 3rd album, "The Whole World Laid Out Before Me", comprising of 9 pieces for piano, strings, clarinet and electronics, all performed solely between Eliot and Tom. With Headphone Commute premiering the first track release, along with critically acclaimed reviews from various other tastemakers, such as A Closer Listen, the album has got off to a flying start.