NILS FRAHM
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Friday, October 12
★★★★½
Nils Frahm has previously referred to playing music as his religion and there was more than a whiff of reverence from the huge crowd filing into his first Melbourne performance since 2014.
A palpable sense of anticipation filled Hamer Hall before Frahm, the 36-year-old German composer and producer, casually strolled onto the stage in loose-fitting pants, black T-shirt and a flat cap. Smiling broadly, he sat at one of almost a dozen various keyboards, wiggled is fingers and set about playing the first of a couple of songs from his most recent albums.
Those various keyboards sat among piles of amplifiers, equalisers and mixing desks that Frahm uses to create his potent blend of electronic and more traditional, classical sounds. State-of-the-art musical equipment sits jammed up against what could be bits of an art installation, but each piece indeed serves a practical purpose.
Nils Frahm, in Australia as part of Melbourne Festival.Credit:Alexander Schneider
Frahm tells us how several years ago a friend helped create a new organ sound for one of his many electronic instruments, but the result sounded more like pan-pipes than a grand organ. Unperturbed by the outcome, he found a way to mix the new tones with older ones for a pleasing sound. This is what Frahm does, like a DJ mixing bits of songs together, he creates something new. At times he also looks a bit like a mechanic, even popping the top on one of his keyboards to briefly fiddle around inside. Other times he steps away from a keyboard or his piano, weaving around an amplifier of microphone to find just the right tone elsewhere.
My Friend the Forest, from new album All Melody, moved away from the earlier emphasis on mixing tones and more technical wizardry to a softer, more natural feel. The addition, only briefly, of what sounds like a chorus of voices is one of the rare times human sounds seep into Frahm's music. His focus is on tone, texture, shifting tempo and of course, melody.
Occasionally he'll pause between songs to explain something to the audience about his thought processes when creating a song. It's a welcome insight and he does it with humour that also gives us a better understanding of his approach to music.
Not unlike an author he spends years crafting a book, Frahm looks a little like he's finally been freed from the room where he created All Melody – except he's brought everything from that room with him to the Hamer Hall stage.
Add in perfectly suited lighting and the simply stunning For Peter – Toilet Brushes – More as he closed out the show and Frahm fans could barely ask for more. As he left, many people moved forward for a better look at the array of equipment on stage. Indeed, it was a night to indulge the senses, a fantastic overload of sight and sound.
Source: Read Full Article