Nils Frahm
The Bells

"Music is a moral law: it gives a soul to the universe, wings to thought, a leap to the imagination, a charm to sadness, an impulse to gaiety, and life to all things." (Plato - Dialogues)

Imagine being a precocious child learning piano under the supervision of Nahum Brodsky, a Russian master who was a student at Tchaikovsky's school.
Then, as a teenager, you play classical piano, discover Keith Jarrett and the immense discography of ECM, thus realizing that it's not just about notes and scores, but also about improvisation and contamination. Then, becoming a conservatory student and collaborating in your free time with rock and jazz groups on the Hamburg and Berlin scene. Passing your twenties, continuing to play classical piano, and founding an ambitious label named Durton Studio to release works that spark interest in the contemporary classical environment. Finally, imagine being close to your thirties and your friend Peter Broderick invites you to express yourself by improvising with your piano in a Berlin church, the Grunewaldkirche.
Add spontaneous talent, humility, respect for the craft, and you'll have at your fingertips the notes of "The Bells".
Nils Frahm is a lucky guy. Luck born of great passion and curiosity. Of absolute pitch and respect for teachers. Of courage and modesty. It would be easy to follow in the footsteps of some of his illustrious European colleagues, without naming names. Lots of spectacle, important theaters, lights and stage designs, and the soul eventually has no place at the table of show business. But not Nils.

The Grunewaldkirche is a beautiful church. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, it is not particularly imposing, yet it has a severe character, in late Gothic style. Its peculiarity is the acoustics. Numerous classical concerts are organized there, a place where musicians fully enjoy their art.
Nils and Peter stayed two nights to record these solo piano pieces, captured by countless microphones scattered around the church, thus revealing its natural, nocturnal, and intimate reverberation. With a sound that is bright yet deep, the eleven tracks on the album express different gradations of style: we find minimalist elegy à la Satie (the minute of "In The Sky And On The Ground"), dazzling and suspended angles ("I Would Like To Think"), dynamics and urgency ("My Things"), and an homage to the work of Max Richter, in my opinion, the highest part of the album ("Dedication Loyalty", "Over There It’s Raining", "Said And Done"). These are fragmented, improvised compositions (Jarrett docet) in a contrastive game, alternating calm and sweetness with arpeggiated, decisive climaxes, full of tension. The use of slightly dissonant low notes that unleash a sense of unresolved turmoil ("Down Down") gives some tracks a modern and characteristic touch. The most peculiar piece, starting from the performance, is "Peter Is Dead In The Piano": Broderick entered the instrument and stretched out on the strings, staying there throughout the performance. I think that in this moment, shared with soul and body, their friendship was sealed for eternity.
To crown it all is a clever balance between echoes and intense silences - in communion with the environment and the space of the church - which makes the listener feel part of the creative process of this record.

Frahm expresses himself through respect for the greats (besides Richter, it's clear he adores John Cage and Steve Reich) but still has a strong personality. In a broad sense, the way he presents himself, reminds me of Kieran Hebden.

An album that I love very much, which has kept me company during some tough moments this autumn-winter. It may seem strange to you, a piano-only album. But it’s not just the instrument, which I love, nor the undeniable skill of this young artist, it's mainly the extraordinary sound that magnetizes, so evocative that one cannot help but be irresistibly enchanted by it. Quoting Plato, it's music that gives charm and dimension to sadness. It doesn't heal but rather consoles.

(also recommended is listening to "Wintermusik", also from 2009, a delicate and melodic album where Frahm is fully inspired, with various keyboards, by Yann Tiersen)