With his fifth studio album Forever Elsewhere, Jordanian pianist and composer Samer Fanek continues to refine his signature blend of melodic piano, orchestral textures, and cinematic drama.

The record was born out of moments when progress felt impossible and answers seemed perpetually out of reach, transforming those periods of frustration and uncertainty into deeply personal instrumental narratives. The title reflects that state of searching — the sense that happiness or clarity exists somewhere just beyond the horizon — and the music itself becomes a vessel for holding on to hope while navigating those in-between spaces.

This atmosphere of unresolved tension is introduced in the eponymous first track of the album and amplified on the second composition – “Glass Half Empty”. The track starts with just piano that sets the pessimistic tone reflected in the composition's name, and then this mood is brought to the extreme by bold rhythm and lush orchestration. Samer explains that part of the track’s inspiration came from a moment when setbacks seemed endless.

The light-footed waltz of “Fleeting Struggle” is notable for its memorable melodic lines that stay in your head for long after the composition has ended.

“Toward the Unknown” carries a shadowy, unsettled mood, built from brooding piano figures and atmospheric moody string layers. Fanek links it to times when he leapt into major life changes without much preparation, guided more by instinct than calculation. “I can be impulsive that way, and I trust my gut a lot more often than my brain, even when the outcome looks very uncertain,” he explains in his interview to Mainly Piano. The track balances that sense of mystery and apprehension with a quiet confidence, reflecting the uneasy thrill of stepping into uncharted territory.

“Caught in Circles” is repetitive yet deep. It creates a sort of tension that is somewhat akin to tribal dancing, and then resolves it by adding elegant brass melodies, only to step back into the same territory.

On “Restless,” Fanek channels a fiery energy, driven by heavy, pounding drums and a ethereal, soaring electric guitar line that sound uncannily live. In reality, both are crafted through virtual instruments that he performs entirely on the keyboard (the same is true for the orchestral passages on the album). He admits to having fun “drumming” this way — one finger on the snare, another on the kick, a few on the hi-hats — joking that in another life he might have been a drummer. The same meticulous approach shapes the guitar solo, where pitch bends, modulation, and an expression pedal transform a digital instrument into something that feels undeniably real.

The track is followed by the album's first single “Endlessly Lost”. “Endlessly Lost” is striking in its clarity and tension, with sunny piano lines weaving through layered textures that feel deliberate yet unforced. Fanek began the piece during the pandemic and revisited it after a period of illness, turning moments of uncertainty into structure and momentum. Although it was composed four years earlier, the track sits naturally within the album, reflecting its undercurrent of unresolved questions that eventually lead you to a place of light.

“Inner Collapse” is the album’s lone piano solo, a piece that feels both intimate and intense. Samer conceived it as a reflection of the quiet accumulation of emotional pressure, the kind that eventually demands release. Interestingly, he originally experimented with synth pads and strings, but ultimately stripped everything back, letting the piano carry the entire narrative on its own. The result is a stark, focused composition that conveys its weight without embellishment, making the silence around the notes as meaningful as the notes themselves.

“Scar Away” pulses with restless intensity, each phrase brimming with momentum and urgency. The title was a happy accident: originally meant to be “Soar Away,” the typography made it read as “Scar Away,” a twist that ended up matching the music’s bite perfectly. Fanek notes that repeatedly performing the piece gave him a strange sense of release. The track blends technical precision with a raw, almost physical energy, leaving listeners both exhilarated and subtly stirred.

The album closes with “One Last Try,” a piece that hovers on the edge of surrender yet radiates a quiet warmth. It was inspired by a moment when nothing seemed to fall into place, and Samer channeled that tension into the piano. The track’s delicate phrasing and understated momentum capture that fleeting mix of hope and resignation, leaving the listener with a sense of intimate closure.

Forever Elsewhere is an album that doesn’t shy away from uncertainty but instead uses it as a catalyst for expression. Across its ten tracks, Samer Fanek transforms personal moments of frustration, hesitation, and risk into vivid instrumental storytelling, always anchored by the piano but enriched with layers of orchestral color and rock-inspired drive. What makes the record resonate is not just its technical polish but the honesty behind it — a willingness to linger in unresolved spaces while still holding on to hope. It’s music that acknowledges struggle while offering listeners a sense of connection, leaving the impression that even when clarity feels out of reach, meaning can still be found in the journey.