Nils Frahm

“Music that thrives on dovetailing melodies that can be simultaneously mesmerizing and beautiful….the infinite elasticity of sound.”—Pitchfork on Nils Frahm

Berlin-based composer Nils Frahm’s pieces for keyboards are absorbing, driving, and reflective. He draws upon the trajectories established by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Keith Jarrett, yet displays his own distinctive approach across a spectrum of fresh sonic territory. Frahm’s exploratory music is best heard live as his escalating improvisational touches pull you into the vibrant widescreen sound he summons. His most recent release, Spaces, is a compilation of live recordings that will give you a sampling of what to expect when he takes the stage in our intimate, superb-sounding Performance Space.

Opening this concert will be buzz-worthy Brooklyn trio Dawn of Midi. The band’s spare-yet-dynamic rhythmic pulse is musically aligned with techno, krautrock, classical minimalism, and world music, but is played on acoustic piano, upright bass, and drums. While this traditional set-up makes them appear to be a jazz band, that’s something they most definitely are not. As the LA Times noted of the group’s approach, “echoes of the shape-shifting patterns of Terry Riley and the more experimental tributaries of EDM ring throughout, but their knotty tension carves out its own identity. It’s a mysterious, vital sound with a pull all its own.”