Empty Nils Frahm

• 1 First Defeat 03:15
• 2 A Shine 04:15
• 3 No Step on Wing 04:47
• 4 The Big O 04:32
• 5 Second Defeat 02:08
• 6 A Shimmer 06:37
• 7 Sonar 03:49
• 8 Black Notes 06:26
• Total Runtime 35:49

Info for Empty

To mark this year’s Piano Day and as an acknowledgement to these unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, Nils releases a collection of eight solo piano pieces titled Empty out now.

“The toughest part was over at least! After a long French-style dinner with my dear friend and film director Benoit Toulemonde in Berlin, I started to set up the recording of what would become the music for our short film, Empty. You may have never heard of it because its unusual editing techniques – showing completely black images for minutes, playing only music – never made it into a big “box office hit”. Or because we wanted the movie to be shown in proper cinemas while it’s not even 30 minutes long. Personally, I believe that the main actor (me) wasn’t such a great cast after all. Back from shooting in the French wintery alps, I indeed felt more comfortable in my studio with headphones on than having a huge camera pointing at me.

Without much pulling the music fell out of the piano these nights. The only thing which stopped the recording process after two days was me falling off my studio loft bed because my friend Erik Skodvin showed up early and rang me out of my sweet dreams. When I came back from the hospital with a broken thumb and listened to the recordings, I felt they were unfinished. I decided to put them aside and started to work on my small album, Screws.

Many many other notes of the piano have been struck since these days, and before we all forget about this, I thought it would be a good moment to share these lullabies with you. I hope they help you stay all strong and calm in these days of solitude – despite the hardship, we can discover introspection and reflection unexpectedly. Who knows what it is good for.

Nils Frahm

Nils Frahm
was born in 1982 and from a very young age, he really enjoyed piano lessons, amongst others those given by Nahum Brodski, one of Tchaikowsky ́s last pupils. In his early days he also discovered Keith Jarrett ́s epochal improvisational music and the boundary-pushing musical worlds of the exceptional label ECM. Classical and jazz music have since become equal sources of inspiration for the pianist, alongside minimalist music and pop.

Nils Frahm had an early introduction to music. During his childhood he was taught to play piano. It was through this that Nils began to immerse himself in the styles of the classical pianists before him as well as contemporary composers.

Today Nils Frahm works as an accomplished composer and producer from his Berlin-based Durton Studio. His unconventional approach to an age-old instrument, played contemplatively and intimately, has won him many fans around the world. For a musician this early in his career, Frahm displays an incredibly developed sense of control and restraint in his work, catching the ear of many fans.

As the recognition continues to grow for his previous solo piano works 'Wintermusik' (2009) and ‘The Bells’ (2009), 2011 saw the release of his critically acclaimed record 'Felt' on Erased Tapes Records. The album was followed by the solo synthesiser EP 'Juno' and 'Screws' (2012) – a birthday gift to his fans he recorded while recovering from a thumb injury. Nils released his follow up to Juno titled 'Juno Reworked' (2013) with guest reworks by Luke Abbott and Clark.

Nils returned with his new album 'Spaces' in 2013, expressing his love for experimentation and answering the call from his fans for a record that truly reflects what they have witnessed during his concerts.

In 2013 Nils Frahm released his first music book, entitled 'Sheets Eins'. Nils is currently on his worldwide 'Spaces Tour 2014'.

Booklet for Empty