Nils Frahm’s live performances are kind of hard to believe. He sits alone on stage, surrounded by multiple pianos and a few other gadgets. He moves back and forth between instruments, slowly building and altering the music as it unfolds, all of which is done without the use of loops or playbacks. It’s an impressive achievement, as Frahm’s sonic output is a whirl of intricately layered yet never fussy arrangements that bring to mind a meld of Steve Reich and Keith Jarrett.
The German native’s most recent record, last year’s Spaces, is a love letter to his live performances — it was culled from 30 shows over two years recorded via an array of mediums. The result is both intimate and otherworldly, the capturing of unique moments in time and space, his minimalist soundscapes even more enveloping and transporting in a live setting. Frahm is the first to admit the impact of the people in the room.
“What I love most about playing in front of people has something to do with a certain kind of energy exchange,” he says in the liner notes that accompany Spaces. “The attention and appreciation of my audience feeds back into my playing. … And since the audience is different every night, the music being played will differ too. Every space I performed in has its own magic and spirit.”
NILS FRAHM plays at the Contemporary Arts Center Monday, Nov. 17. Find tickets/more info
here .
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2014.
