It’s a rare show that maintains the original organ/seats at the back of the Usher Hall stage, usually it’s covered by whatever backdrop an artist has. But the Nils Frahm setup is also the rare one that will never fail to draw focus. Amidst the stacks of synths, amps, pedals and keyboards one item sticks out in particular. This is the glass harmonica which bears a striking resemblance to a crystal kebab. And it’s this peculiarity that kicks things off as Frahm dons gloves, flicks a little water into the crowd and goes to work in a manner that recalls a mix between playing wine glasses and a theremin.
Harmonium in the Well segues into ‘Enters’, harmonium loops giving way to layered electronics as Frahm bounces between six instruments at once, creating a veritable wall of noise that manages to never lose sight of the underlying melody even as darkwave synths, treated vocals and keys of all stripe join the fray.
Frahm cuts a surprisingly whimsical figure, exhorting the audience to get involved to help out on one song… by making animal noises which he can play over, loop and forge into an actual song. After a loose dry run he asks for a little less “caged animals waiting to be fed” and a little more subtlety – cue a thousand people attempting to sound like crickets. He somehow gets what he needs from the cacophony and goes to work demonstrating his ability to improvise a solid cut, eventually blending into ‘Briefly’ and ending with a cheeky callback to the animal noises to round things out.
‘Hammers’ closes the main set with a first glimpse of Frahm the neoclassicist, managing to thrill just as easily through virtuosity on one instrument as he can through a manic display of control on five. The repetitive motifs recall Steve Reich as Frahm shifts between phrases up to a mesmerising crescendo.
A brief hop offstage to grab a glass of wine and Frahm begins the patient world-building of ‘Says’. Again, every aspect of his vintage synthesizers is utilised, reworked and refigured in combination with the Moog Taurus and Roland Juno 60, drum machines, keys and what sounds like a lap steel. After the triumphant conclusion he dives to ground for the brief percussive assault of Toilet Brushes (no grand piano tonight so he needs to make do with the upright), and then the grand finale, ‘More’. This is in the mould of ‘Hammers’ in its revolving structures that seem to move in ever-increasing circles. Occasionally focusing on hammering lucidity across two keyboards, in the mode of Lubomyr Melnyk, sometimes delivering intricate melodies a la Philip Glass, Frahm’s ability to maintain control across almost ten minutes of non-stop clacking is astounding.
Frahm’s unique ability to combine electronic experimentalism and neoclassical composition already elevates him to a level of innovation rarely seen. To then perform these complex songs on his own, across dozens of instruments, is demonstrative of a once-in-a-generation musical mind.
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