Jeremiah Fraites

Jeremiah Fraites, a multi-instrumentalist who also composes and writes songs, first gained wide recognition as a founding member of the platinum-certified indie-folk trio the Lumineers, a band that achieved multi-platinum status during the early 2010s. His first solo project arrived in 2021 as Piano Piano, an album consisting entirely of spare, wordless piano pieces. Four years afterward came the expansive follow-up Piano Piano, Vol. 2.

Raised in Ramsey, New Jersey, Fraites showed an early and lasting attachment to music. Initial piano studies introduced him to Beethoven; his older brother Joshua later steered his listening toward rock, particularly the catalogs of Guns N’ Roses and Pink Floyd. Joshua’s death from a heroin overdose when Fraites was 15 turned music into a source of recovery. While at college he practiced whenever possible on the school’s available pianos, and after graduation he moved to Denver with his longtime friend Wesley Schultz. There they encountered cellist Neyla Pekarek, and under the name the Lumineers the three musicians broke through nationally in 2012 with the worldwide single “Hey Ho.” Their propulsive concerts and fusion of rock, folk, and Americana kept them prominent in the indie-folk scene for years afterward. In 2020 Fraites revealed plans for a record of original instrumental works centered on piano; the intimate, emotionally resonant result, Piano Piano, appeared the next year.

The 2024 release Piano Piano, Vol. 2 expanded that foundation into a cinematic statement, incorporating percussion, acoustic guitar, strings, spoken passages, and layered synthesizers. Among its highlights was an orchestral treatment of Radiohead’s “No Surprises,” featuring guest vocals by Gregory Alan Isakov and string work by Macedonia’s FAME’S Studio Orchestra.