Following an already busy start of the year for Berlin-based pianist and composer Nils Frahm with the announcement of an annual Piano Day and the release of the free album Solo, Nils now takes the focus back to his live performance. Continuing in the tradition of his acclaimed 2013 album Spaces, which featured a grand piano, upright piano, synthesisers, electric piano and tape delays, he will now add drum machines, a Mellotron (tape replay keyboard containing pre-recorded self-made sounds), his very own upright called Una Corda and a custom made, electronically-controlled wind organ to his new live set.
With these new instruments Nils will premiere brand new material, which will be developed from show to show on his tour across Europe and which will lay the foundation for his next studio album. The audience can also expect existing pieces being reworked live as Nils makes use of his new setup. So instead of writing and recording his future album locked away in his studio before taking it on tour, Nils decided to do things differently. Having enjoyed the lively process of capturing Spaces over the course of two years, it seemed natural to develop new ideas live on stage, thereby involving the audience in the process of production.
“As most of my better songs have been shaped and crafted in a live set, I wanted to invite my audience to be part of this next big creative step of developing new material on new instruments. My audience, as always, will tell me without speaking which parts need to be shortened, which breaks should be longer, or louder, or or or… The stage will tell me where this next big record should go.”
Bringing all these instruments and prototypes on tour is by any means pretty insane. The chance that everything works all the time is close to zero. Nils once said: “Making and planning this tour reminds me of base jumping, with the nice addition that it probably wont fail fatal. Some close friends and my family thought I went nuts when I told them about the tour. They are possibly right. It feels like a good kind of crazy so far…”
With only one string per note, the Una Corda was commissioned by Nils and built by David Klavinsin 2014 as a smaller, portable version of the 3.7 meter tall Klavins M370 on which his latest album Solo was recorded. The bespoke organ is the latest addition to Nils’s collection of rare instruments consisting of portable wind pipes, customly made of wood. The team around Feld.is, who are mainly responsible for Nils´s visual artworks helped him to design a completely new midi interface which controls the organ and enables new sonic possibilities.
With so much old and fragile gear and temperamental prototypes on stage, Nils’s travel party now also includes his studio engineer Matthias H. Franz Hahn who will be on hand with his soldering iron, ready to fix up any instruments from the side of the stage.
The Brooklyn-based trio and latest Erased Tapes signing Dawn of Midi are also excited to join Nils on this European tour which starts on April 25th and includes key cites such as Berlin, Paris and two nights at London’s Roundhouse of which the first date is already sold out.
· watch video teaser · hear 'Some' from 'Solo' · check all tour dates
Michael Price's beautiful debut album 'Entanglement' is here and available from good record stores worldwide! To celebrate we decided to extend the full album stream for one more week.
"This neo-classical treat repays immersion" ★★★★ – Uncut
"Simultaneously chilling and indescribably moreish" 8/10 – Clash
"A timely reminder of how high modern classical music can reach" ★★★★★ – musicOMH
"Immersive and exciting... blending the sentiments of electronic advances with the ethos of a more traditional symphonist" – Bleep
"Price sounds good without the screen" 8/10 – Norman Records
· listen to full stream · order CD/LP · order DL via iTunes
Nils Frahm has a very special surprise waiting for you...
"happy piano day everyone! it is time to tell you about my surprise... check: www.pianoday.org
and enjoy my new record :) love you, nils"
Come join us at Rough Trade East London to pick up your early bird copy of "Solo", with live performances by Douglas Dare, Tor Miller and Tom Adams from 3pm!
From 12pm–3pm YOU are dearly invited to take to the piano which we specially brought in to celebrate this wonderful instrument.
New Yorkers can grab "Solo" and witness Bruce Brubaker, Jason Lindner and Tom Rogerson live from 5pm - more details.
If you live in Los Angeles, please make sure to visit Touch Vinyl for some piano action and special guests to be announced here.
Note: the vinyl edition will be available at Rough Trade from Wednesday April 1. Only CDs for now, but they look just as beautiful!
Nils and us made the album available for free download. Please donate to help David Klavins build his life-long dream: the Klavins M450 – the tallest piano in the world!
You can also contribute by ordering the LP, CD and DL here.
Or get the DL via iTunes · HDtracks · Qobuz · stream via Spotify
Thank you for participating.
More info: www.pianoday.org
HAPPY PIANO DAY!
Team
Erased Tapes