Nils Frahm – 11-11-2011

Interview with: Nils Frahm
By: Lara Cappelli

German artist Nils Frahm has recently released the full-length “Felt” (review). He is on tour around Europe at the moment, and took some time to answer our questions.

Your tour has recently started, how is it going? Are you looking forward to any date in particular?
I am writing this actually out of the car I am touring in. I am on the road with my friend Martyn Heyne, a wonderful guitar player, heading to Nijmegen in the Netherlands. I am looking forward to all the shows equally since it is impossible to say in forehand if a show will be great or not, but I have a good feeling about all of them actually. I have been playing live for only two years now and some shows are already sold out, which seems unbelievable to me.

“Felt” is extremely different compared to your previous releases. Is this difference reversing on the way you are bringing your music on stage?
My work in the studio is its own thing and somehow disconnected from my live shows. but I also believe that playing live requires a different approach than studio work. I also interact with the audience and the given piano every night, so I want to be open to adapt my music to a situation. I am not interested in repeating my albums live.

Do you think your music falls under a certain target or do you wish it to find its own way?
I haven’t thought about that to be honest. Of course it sounds better if my music finds its own way coming from an individualist point of view.

“The Bells” was made possible by the collaboration between you and Peter Broderick. On the other hand, in the making of “Felt” you were completely alone. Is there a particular way of making music that you enjoy the most?
I think I love the diversity in the process of creating music, it becomes fun if you are able to surprise yourself in the making. As long as I forget about time and space while doing it I suppose I have a great time. It is very lovely to collaborate with musicians I have to say though, the social aspect makes it very enjoyable. Because working alone can be pretty lonesome.

You are signed to Erased Tapes Records and you have worked quite a lot with some of the artists who are signed to that label, too. Are you planning to go further, with some of those collaborations or do you want to experience something or someone new?
Recently I worked with Peter Broderick and Ólafur Arnalds on music, I also work with Dustin O´Halloran on music as well. They all speak a musical language I can strongly relate to but I am also working with non erased tapes artists like F.S. Blumm and many more. A part of my work is also just helping with sound, mastering and production. I just finished an album with Grand Salvo from Preservation Records. A wonderful musician.

“The Bells” was recorded in a church, “Felt” sound was made possible by the use of a damper. It seems like in your music everything is very much about seizing the moment and its atmosphere. How important is it for you to catch the “instantaneous”?
The moment is always more important than preparation or, I try to be prepared to understand when the moment is right to record a take. It is more to be ready mentally than anything else. The pieces which make me most happy are the improvised ones; they always appear fresh to me and breath more naturally than my more composed pieces, a lot of people might disagree though. I try not to analyse my music too much, it would harm the feel behind it. It always needs a subconscious element that lives in a different world than logic.

Is there a particular song of your musical production that reflects your artistic essence the most? Why?
I am very happy with track 2 from “Felt” called ‘Less’. I think that I learned to use space in a new way. I am very proud about this as I think the idea of leaving space in music becomes more important to me. Also I always try to take the listener to a similar mental place as the place I travel to when I play the piano. I think the song ‘Tristana’ from “Wintermusik” is a good achievement of that approach.

Now that you are on tour, some memories of the past ones might come to your mind. Is there a noteworthy one that you want to share with us?
When I was on tour last in Europe I was invited by a friend in Brussels for some beers and bed at his place. I knew I needed to be in St. Malo (7 hours drive) the next day and told him at 3 am in the morning that I should go to bed probably, then I looked at my schedule and realised for the first time that the show in St. Malo was in the afternoon and soundcheck even earlier. I counted in my head the hours it would take to get there and realised that I cant even sleep more than 45 minutes. I just left and drove all the way there and played the show. The next day I drove 10 hours back to Strasbourg. Life on the road can be harsh!

After this tour, what does the future hold for you? Are you working on some other projects besides your own?
I am thinking of taking a deep breath after Christmas and slow down a bit. The last 2 years have been very good but also exhausting. I played over 200 shows and released lots of music. Maybe I should just take a loooong nap. Then I will work with Anne Müller on some new music and with Peter Broderick and I have production and mastering jobs lined up too. I want to find a new exciting idea for my next album and take my time with it.

And finally, what is the biggest difference between Nils six years ago and Nils today?
Today I have a beard.

We kindly thank Nils for the nice interview. The upcoming dates of his tour are available on his website: www.nilsfrahm.de.

Links:
Nils Frahm Official