Nils Frahm Explained

Nils Frahm
Background:non_performing_personnel
Landscape:yes
Birth Date:1982 9, df=y
Origin:Hamburg, West Germany
Label:Erased Tapes
Associated Acts:Nonkeen, Oliveray with Peter Broderick, Ólafur Arnalds, Anne Müller, F.S. Blumm
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Embed:yes
Signature:Signature of Nils Frahm.svg
Signature Size:150px

Nils Frahm (born 20 September 1982) is a German musician, composer, and record producer based in Berlin. He is known for combining classical and electronic music and for an unconventional approach to the piano in which he mixes a grand piano, upright piano, Roland Juno-60, Rhodes piano, drum machines, and Moog Taurus.

In addition to his solo work, Frahm has released collaborations with such notable performers as Ólafur Arnalds, F. S. Blumm, Anne Müller and Woodkid. With Frederic Gmeiner and Sebastian Singwald he records and performs as Nonkeen.[1]

Biography

Frahm had an early introduction to music. His father, Klaus Frahm, was a photographer who also designed covers for ECM Records.[2] He grew up near Hamburg, where he learned the styles of the classical pianists as well as contemporary composers.[3] At school he used mixing boards and was very interested in the quality of recorded sound.[4] He studied classical piano for 8 years under Nahum Brodsky, the protégé of the protégé of Tchaikovsky,[5] who lived in a neighbouring village. In 2006, rather than pursue an orchestra career, Frahm moved to Berlin as a jobbing technician.[6]

Frahm's earlier solo piano works Wintermusik (2009) and The Bells (2009) gained him attention, but it was his 2011 release Felt that was met with critical acclaim. It was his first studio album on Erased Tapes, which has released his music since. It was followed by the solo synthesizer EP Juno; and by Screws (2012), recorded while Frahm was recovering from a thumb injury, and which was offered as a free download to fans on his birthday.[7] His follow-up to Juno, titled Juno Reworked (2013), featured guest reworks by Luke Abbott and Chris Clark.

Frahm's album Spaces (2013) was made of sound collages of live recordings from various venues spanning two years.

In December 2013, Frahm released his first music book, Sheets Eins (Sheets One), published by Manners McDade.[8] In 2016 the follow-up Sheets Zwei was released.[9]

In 2014, Frahm announced his new piano "Una Corda", specially designed and made for him by David Klavins. It weighs under 100 kg and has one string per key.[10] (Standard pianos have from one to three strings per key.)

His album Solo (2015), an improvised single take with no overdubs, was later recorded on the "Modell 370", a 370 cm high vertical piano also made by David Klavins.[11] It was one of 19 records nominated for the IMPALA Album of the Year Award.[12]

A condensed version of Frahm's single "More" was featured in the trailer for the video game Assassin's Creed Unity at Gamescom.[13]

In 2015, Frahm composed his first original film score, for the German film Victoria, a 140-minute continuous take directed by Sebastian Schipper.[14] He also collaborated with Woodkid on the critically acclaimed short film ELLIS[15] directed by JR which was released in October 2015.

In the same year, Frahm created "Piano Day", celebrated on the 88th day of the year (due to the standard piano's 88 keys). The event's first project was the construction, with David Klavins, of the Modell 450 piano, the successor to the Modell 370.

In February 2016, Frahm and childhood friends Frederic Gmeiner and Sebastian Singwald, as the band Nonkeen, released The Gamble, followed by its companion release Oddments of the Gamble in August 2016. Pitchfork described the album as "charmingly patched together and messy as it is well-paced and dynamic".[16] The material was recorded over eight years while the artwork was produced by Frahm's father.[17]

In 2016 Frahm curated Possibly Colliding at the Barbican Centre in London, featuring a weekend of music, art and films.[18]

"I'm interested in how human beings react in certain situations, and what music does to people's emotions. How we can change people's attitudes with tones. After I've played a good concert, people leave the room happy. This is something we can give back to the world. When people feel down and like it's all going to shit, at least we can give them some music and change their attitude so people don't think it's all shit... That's my religion."— Frahm

Equipment

Frahm is known for using vintage gear on his songs and live performances. This is a list of some of his main equipment:[19]

Discography

Solo albums

EPs

Compilation albums

Soundtrack albums

Collaborations

Theatre collaborations

Film

Print

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Simpson . Paul . Nonkeen Biography & History . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20161011180711/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/nonkeen-mn0003454534/biography . 11 October 2016 . 8 August 2016 . AllMusic.
  2. Web site: Andrew Male . 9 October 2013 . Nils Frahm Flaunts the Imperfection . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223857/http://www.mojo4music.com/7603/nils-frahm-ambient-berliner-makes-music-for-autumn-nights/ . 14 July 2014 . 3 July 2014 . Mojo Magazine.
  3. Web site: Rachel Wakefield . 30 April 2010 . "The music I play inspires my life": Nils Frahm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714215704/http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/leisure/music/8131753.___The_music_I_play_inspires_my_life___/ . 14 July 2014 . 3 July 2014 . Wessex Guardian.
  4. Web site: The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | The Listener Is The Key: Nils Frahm Interviewed. The Quietus.
  5. News: Nils Frahm review – neoclassicism with knobs on . 24 July 2023 . The Guardian . The Guardian.
  6. Web site: Jones . Charlie Robin . 28 June 2016 . Nils Frahm: 'My music can be quite heavy. Some people faint' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180226032750/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/jun/28/nils-frahm-neo-classical-musician-and-pianist . 26 February 2018 . 25 February 2018 . the Guardian . en.
  7. Ro Cemm . 6 December 2013 . Album Reviews: Nils Frahm - Screws . live . The Line of Best Fit . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714130320/http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/nils-frahm-screw-113962 . 14 July 2014 . 3 July 2014.
  8. Web site: SHEETS by Nils Frahm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714234246/http://www.nilsfrahm-sheets.com/ . 14 July 2014 . 3 July 2014.
  9. Book: SHEETS ZWEI by Nils Frahm . en . 8 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170202215922/http://www.nilsfrahm-sheets.com/zwei.html . 2 February 2017 . live.
  10. Web site: Peter Kirn . 16 June 2014 . Acoustic Revelation: Inside the Una Corda, the 100kg, 21st Century Piano Built for Nils Frahm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140627092425/http://createdigitalmusic.com/2014/06/acoustic-revelation-inside-una-chorda-100kg-21st-century-piano-built-nils-frahm/ . 27 June 2014 . 3 July 2014 . Create Digital Music.
  11. Web site: SOLO Nils Frahm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170309062239/http://www.nilsfrahm.com/works/sol/ . 9 March 2017 . 8 March 2017 . www.nilsfrahm.com . en.
  12. Web site: Young labels featured in shortlist for IMPALA Album of the Year Award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160604190239/http://impalamusic.org/content/young-labels-featured-shortlist-impala-album-year-award . 4 June 2016 . 13 May 2016 . sur impalamusic.org.
  13. Web site: 15 August 2014 . 'Assassin's Creed: Unity:' Brand New Trailer Released At Gamescom 2014 [VIDEO] ]. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170601055556/http://www.designntrend.com/articles/18008/20140815/assassins-creed-unity-brand-new-trailer-released-gamescom-2014-video.htm . 1 June 2017 . 8 August 2016.
  14. Web site: Music for the Motion Picture Victoria Nils Frahm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170309060834/http://www.nilsfrahm.com/works/music-for-the-motion-picture-victoria/ . 9 March 2017 . 8 March 2017 . www.nilsfrahm.com . en.
  15. Web site: ELLIS . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170509174941/http://www.ellis-themovie.com/ . 9 May 2017 . 8 March 2017 . www.ellis-themovie.com . en.
  16. Web site: Cook-Wilson . Winston . 9 February 2016 . nonkeen: The Gamble Album Review Pitchfork . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160807074813/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21530-the-gamble/ . 7 August 2016 . 8 August 2016 . pitchfork.com.
  17. Web site: Friends First: An Interview with nonkeen . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160803212823/https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/friends-first-an-interview-with-nonkeen-146 . 3 August 2016 . 8 August 2016 . thefourohfive.com.
  18. Web site: Possibly Colliding: a weekend curated by Nils Frahm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181018202050/http://blog.barbican.org.uk/2016/06/nils-frahm-on-possibly-colliding/ . 18 October 2018 . 18 October 2018.
  19. Web site: Inc. . Equipboard . Nils Frahm's Equipboard . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170309060518/http://equipboard.com/pros/nils-frahm . 9 March 2017 . 8 March 2017 . Equipboard . en.
  20. Web site: Nils Frahm Surprise Releases New Album in Honor of World Piano Day. undertheradarmag.com.
  21. Web site: Bloom . Madison . 28 March 2020 . Nils Frahm Shares New Album Empty: Listen . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200328230615/https://pitchfork.com/news/nils-frahm-shares-new-album-empty-listen/ . 28 March 2020 . 29 March 2020 . Pitchfork.
  22. Web site: Old Friends New Friends & Sheets Drei out now Nils Frahm. 2022-01-21. en.
  23. Web site: Nils Frahm releases «Day», an album of six solo piano pieces .
  24. Web site: Encores 2 – EP by Nils Frahm on Apple Music . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130917/https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/encores-2-ep/1443975218 . 25 January 2019 . 25 January 2019 . Apple Music.
  25. Web site: 2X1=4 Nils Frahm . 6 September 2021 . en.
  26. Web site: Wall . Jessica . 2020-11-30 . Tripping with Nils Frahm: A joyous sonic journey Movie review . 2024-09-05 . The Upcoming.
  27. Web site: Sheets Drei. 2022-01-21. LEITER. en-GB.

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