# Hania Rani

Hania Rani (born Hanna Raniszewska; 5 September 1990) is a Polish pianist, composer and singer.

## Early life and education

Rani was born in Gdańsk. She studied music at the Feliks Nowowiejski Music School in Gdańsk and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

## Career

Trained as a classical pianist, Rani began incorporating jazz into her work during music school. In 2015, she collaborated with Dobrawa Czocher on the album Biala Flaga, featuring their arrangements of music by Grzegorz Ciechowski. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rani started experimenting with improvisation and composing. She has blurred traditional distinctions between jazz, classical and house music.
Rani's debut album, Esja, a collection of solo piano pieces, was released in 2019 on Gondwana Records and received international acclaim. The album earned Rani four Fryderyk Awards, including "Best Debut Album", "Best Alternative Album", and "Best New Arrangement", which are significant honours in the Polish music industry.
Her second album, Home, was released in 2020, also on Gondwana Records. This album saw Rani expanding her musical style by incorporating vocals and electronic elements, and collaborating with bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak. Home earned Rani the Fryderyk Award for "Best Composer" and was included in Rough Trade's "Albums of the Year" list.
When Rani released "Hello", the first single from her album Ghosts in spring 2023, it marked a shift in her sound departing from the New Classical style often associated with her 2019 debut, Esja. Across 13 tracks and 67 minutes, Ghosts features collaborations with bassist and Moog player Ziemowit Klimek, as well as Patrick Watson, who contributed to the track "Dancing with Ghosts".
In June 2024, Rani announced a spring 2025 tour where she will perform her Ghosts album in its entirety, specially arranged for a large ensemble. The tour includes performances at some of Europe's most prestigious venues, such as COS Torwar in Warsaw, Philharmonie Berlin, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Barbican in London, and The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
In 2024, ITV, one of the UK's leading broadcasters, commissioned a piece by Rani for the opening credits of their football coverage for the England national football team on ITV Sport.
Rani's fourth solo album, Nostalgia, was released on 27 September 2024 via Gondwana Records. This marks Rani's first live album and the first to feature both her music and photography. The album was recorded at the Polish Radio studios in Warsaw, a space of personal and artistic significance to Rani. Through Nostalgia, she offers her unique perspective on the studios. In anticipation of the release, Rani hosted a special listening session on 25 September at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. The event included a full album playback, along with photos and texts from the recording sessions, followed by a question and answer segment.

## Discography

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | GER | UK | Certifications |
| Esja | Released: 5 April 2019 Label: Gondwana Records Format: Digital download, CD, LP | — | 65 | ZPAV: Gold |
| Home | Released: 29 May 2020 Label: Gondwana Records Format: Digital download, CD, LP | — | — | |
| Music for Film and Theatre | Released: 18 June 2021 Label: Gondwana Records Format: Digital download, CD, LP | — | — | |
| Inner Symphonies (with Dobrawa Czocher) | Released: 15 October 2021 Label: Deutsche Grammophon Format: Digital download, CD, LP | 68 | — | |
| On Giacometti | Released: 17 February 2023 Format: Digital download, CD, LP | — | — | |
| Ghosts | Released: 6 October 2023 Label: Gondwana Records Format: Digital download, CD, LP | 52 | — | |
| Nostalgia | Released: 27 September 2024 Label: Gondwana Records Format: Digital download, CD, LP | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |||||