Grammy-nominated cellist and composer Sebastian Plano announces his new studio album “Solo”, out June 26. Marking a profound departure from his previous orchestral and electronic works, this is his first record composed and recorded entirely for unaccompanied cello – an intimate body of work shaped by decades of movement across continents and self-discovery.
After years of traveling from Argentina to San Francisco, Berlin, and Italy, Plano found clarity in solitude.
“Recording music for a solo instrument is like watching yourself in the mirror,” he explains. “You can’t hide anywhere.” The album strips away the layered textures of his past scores to embrace the raw, natural form of the instrument: its breath, its grain, and its fragility. The tracklist traces his journey: Every Beginning captures the intensity of arrival, while Sense and Change reflects on transformation. Wonders returns to his origins, echoing the awe of his first call to study abroad at sixteen. The structure draws on the architectural clarity of Bach’s suites, blended with the harmonic language of Scriabin and the freedom of improvisation.
Facts
1: Forms to be broken, surprises to be taken.
2: In high school, I would look out the window and stare at the sky; it meant freedom.
3: “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” Carl Sagan
Hearing this while listening to Vangelis at age eight blew my mind.
Questions and Answers
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
It is a combination of two worlds: nature, what I understand, and humanity, what I strive to understand.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I began playing the cello at the age of seven and started composing music at twelve. My grandfather, who was a tango bandoneonist and composer had bought a small cello and kept it for me until I was old enough to play it. Growing up in a family of musicians, I was able to write music for my parents. I remember composing pieces with a notation software, printing them out, and handing the parts to my family to play. As time went on I started experimenting more and more with electronic music and to write pieces for myself and to share with friends. It was just pure experimentation.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Indeed difficult…
Ok computer by Radiohead
Grace by Jeff Buckley
Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk
( ) by Sigur Ros
Portishead by Portishead
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
I associate Berlin with the unexpected, with surprises, with the freedom. What sets Berlin apart from other cities is its sense of space, especially compared to other European capitals, which allows the city to breathe. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I associate the city with its Bohemian spirit, something that was far more pronounced when I first arrived years ago and is, in my view, gradually fading.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Tempelhof by day, Tiergarten by night.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
I would paint.
7. What was the last record/music you bought or listened to?
The record I’ve been listening to most lately is Towner: Music for Solo Guitar, performed by Adriano Sebastiani.
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I would love to collab with Jonny Greenwood.
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
As a performer, the concert I did back in 2018 at the Funkhaus in Berlin. It is a venue with so much history and charm. Also, being surrounded by the audience in a full 360 degrees sets it apart from other venues, it makes it special.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
I don’t rely on any piece of technology to create, however it definitely plays an important part when it comes to experimentation and production. What I enjoy most about technology tools in music is how improvising with it can spark unexpected creative ideas.
11. Please tell us about the making of your latest album “Solo”.
My upcoming album ‘Solo’ is a set of fifteen unaccompanied cello solo pieces. Unlike my previous works, which often combine multiple instrumental lines and electronic textures, ‘Solo’ is entirely cello: a single, unaccompanied voice. The album reflects the journey I’ve taken since leaving my home country, Argentina, more than twenty years ago with nothing but a cello strapped to my back, and how that instrument has shaped and guided my path through living and moving across different places. It is about movement, memory, and return. I wrote and recorded the record between Berlin and Italy over the period of two years. The album will be out next June 26th.
