© Markus Werner

Nils Frahm

Volksbühne, Berlin

It’s a rare musician that can break through the demographic, amassing both compositional purists and the experimentally curious. Yet German composer Nils Frahm has done just that, crossing from the melancholy of profound piano stories to rhythmically heavy impressions of keys, drum machines and bass.

Starting off his European tour with two sold out shows at the Volksbühne in his residing city of Berlin, Nils left a rare impression on those fortunate enough to slip into the 100-year-old ‘People’s Theatre’.

Gaining much public attention with the release of earlier works including 2009’s The Bells album, Frahm went on to storm headlong into acclaim with his move to Erased Tapes. There in 2011 he released the sentimental Felt album, the solo synthesiser EP Juno, 2012’s Screws, 2013’s immaculate Spaces, and just this year, the Piano-Day inspired Solo.

Cradled in the tall theatre, the event is fully packed and the set-up is grandiose and specific, with four sets of curious key instruments and wooden boxes concealing an instrument of sound on the left shade of the stage. As Frahm’s hands dance across the various keys he runs through the first melodies on his upright piano and the Mellotron (a tape replay keyboard containing pre-recorded, self-made sounds), the stage lights up revealing his brand new custom made and electronically-controlled wind organs: the three wooden boxes now belting out from under the light box beams. The feeling is orchestral, church-esque, reverent with a melancholy timbre, as his body moves, bent over deeply bowing to the keys.

The mood begins to lift as the drum-machine and synthesisers kick into a progressive melodic trance, with the perfected light show skewing to the rhythm, aptly accenting the modulations in his piano dance.

Frahm teases with experimentation and freely modifies familiar songs during his performance, flowing into the unheard, himself admitting that new album ideas will be developed throughout the performances of his tour. 

At some point, on his upright, he breaks into a digitally unadulterated piece that is sad and timely, a signature work, graceful and trembling. Earlier introducing his new grand piano, the UNA CORDA, specially designed and made for him by David Klavins, the audience melts into the effortless cascading fanfares. If there was any final doubts of the technical capacities of this frequently subtle composer, they’re laid to rest as he stretches his arms and fingers across numerous keys, and piano sets.

The finale is an improvised, slowly-built rendition of the Says composition appearing on the 2013 Spaces album and moves through a majestic 10 minutes of soft to dramatic.

The audience roars, and Frahm returns for a two-part encore.

Drumming out a rhythmically deviant groove on his grand piano with soft mallets, he brushes the microphone, reminiscent of the prepared piano movement, and once back on the keys he pounces, paddles, and dances over his strong fingers like Peanuts’ Schroeder, laying out a Schubert-worthy finish and earning a standing, screaming ovation from the crowd.