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Nils Frahm - Barbican Centre, London 29/10/14

04 November 2014, 09:00 | Written by George O'Brien

For the last half decade, Nils Frahm has been at the forefront of composers opening people's eyes to nu-classical music. Undoubtedly, the genre still feels like something of a mysterious entity to many, but finding a way in is easy thanks to the German genius. Tonight, Frahm earns this title.

As with any show at London's Barbican Centre, there is an immediate, unavoidable premonition that we are about to witness something special: the towering hall somehow feels as intimate as it does grandiose; the lighting is soft, the seats comfortable; it feels like we should be going for small pot of ice cream at the interval. For a regular gig-goer in the Capital, it is suddenly difficult to remember what it's like being rammed into a sweaty basement drinking overpriced pale ale, or in fact, why you’d ever want to be.

Wandering onto the dimly lit stage, Frahm appears to a barrage of applause, bows humbly and takes his place behind, or really in-amongst, his wonderfully juxtaposing setup of upright and grand pianos which flank a Back To The Future-looking synth rig, which he assures us is mostly "kaput".

He may appear humble but Frahm is clearly a (white) liar. The sounds produced by the DIY electronic tower of kit is anything but broken; opening number “An Aborted Beginning”, which morphs seamlessly into the miraculous “Says” captures everything that the composer is about: unbreakable, relentless concentration leads to hypnotic refrains that tease as they grow organically towards the introduction of spine-tingling bass that rumbles through the body with shocking power. This muddling of twinkling melodic beauty and powerful explosions of bass and synthesised noise undoubtedly inspired Jon Hopkins; fans of Immunity should dip immediately into Frahm’s Spaces.

Works such as ”Familiar”, “Ambre” and the utterly impressive and metronomic “Said And Done” - which emphasises his strength as a pianist thanks to its non-stop pedal note - show-off his ability to create stunningly melancholic, motion soundtrack-esque works and shine a light on his classical prowess. There’s humour too though; with tracks as transfixing as Frahm’s his ability to chat casually, self-deprecatingly to the wowed auditorium is as welcome as it is genuinely amusing.

There’s a complete sense of calm about him as he strolls around the stage in one shoe before launching into yet another intense showing of musicianship, best highlighted by “Toilet Brushes / More” - which, as the name suggests involves playing the inside of the piano with the unlikely instruments - and an improvised piano encore which ends perfectly on the requested “Happy Birthday”.

Of course the aforementioned evenings of ear-splitting rawness still, and will always, have their place but tonight is all about a performance of immaculate and at times mind-bending brilliance from one of the most talented young musicians in his field; let Nils Frahm introduce you to his nu-classical world; it’s a very special place.

Photograph by Siamack Amini - see the whole gallery here.

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