Nils Frahm at The Regency Ballroom

I entered into the sprawl of the Regency Ballroom accompanied by the artist’s co-agent closely behind. The show hadn’t started yet but on the stage was an impressive layout of multiple synths, a grand piano, chords, and multiple towels on the side for, as I later found out, the sweat, glowing under a warm light. I told the agent I was impressed and she told me it has been a long journey for Nils Frahm, this being the first sold out U.S. tour promoting his new album All Melody (2018). She looks at the set up with a certain pride and smiles: “He started out by making a Christmas album for his mother, since she loved his music and he didn’t have enough to get her an actual gift. Now look at him.”

Impressive indeed.

At around 7:30 pm at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, the lights dimmed over the elaborate set up of multiple custom wooden synths, grand pianos, wires, and intricate cables brought over from Germany. The man known as Nils Frahm  walked into the spotlight wearing a small green beret and a big boyish grin, like he was enjoying the crowd for the first time. He sat at one of the many synths and leaned over teasingly towards the crowd, seeing if we wanted him to play. Before I knew it, he was playing away on a small toy-like piano, creating intricate melodies before creating drifting chords on the synth. Below, and the audience shushed immediately at the pure melody of the opening song.

Nils Frahm is a German pianist who has been in the musical industry for over 10 years now. His work is relatively underground in the states but majorly popular in Berlin, rising through the charts of the European soundwaves. His music is a blend between the classics of piano ballads with the intricacies of contemporary influence. His works over the years have ranged from simple piano tunes, like Screws (2012) and Felt (2011) and the subtle technological influences within the pianos, like “Says.”

Entering the venue, I was curious to see how exactly classical influences still live in the contemporary soundscape of today’s culture. Nils did not disappoint. His set-list had a unique interplay between completely intimate pieces and more progressive, beat infused piano songs. Songs like “You” and “My Friend the Forest” rang out in the silent theater with hollow keys and the creaking of his seat to create a world of wood and hollow hope. Then there were the tracks off his new album like “All Melody” and “Harm Hymn,” tracks that would find themselves at home on a Bonobo record, that infused expertly classical piano with infused beat loops and elongated synths that had the audience moving their feet. The constant flux between the two types kept the audience constantly on their toes. It was an interesting experience having dancing one song and the next not even wanting to stifle a cough because the song Nils is playing is so quiet and close.

The show stoppers were his last 3 tracks, some of his older material in his discography: “Hammers,” “Says,” and “For Peter Toilet Brushes More.” Humorously enough before starting “Says,” he commented on how his most popular track was just a simple loop of piano reverb with some piano chord sprinkled in between. “It was supposed to be a rest from composition, a kind of interlude, and you guys loved it. So I guess going forward, I’ll have to stop trying so hard.” These moments of witty dialogue with the audience kept the atmosphere lively. It was like listening to an old friend play.

“Hammers” was one of his classical piano ballads but it had a higher energy, a continuous chord ringing out throughout with slight iterations that created a palpable energy in the room. “Says” is a drifter track, reverbing and looping piano chords to create a spacey soundscape that made you feel like you were floating. Then with the encore track “For Peter Toilet Brushes More,” surged of bouncing piano reverb and lush orchestral sounds over the beginning chords, creating a feeling of euphoria for many of the onlookers.

The music produced that night created feelings of high highs and low low’s that were expertly interwoven with bare piano chords and intricate techno moments. It was a beautiful roller-coaster between moments of classicism and contemporary blending but through it all, with that universal melody tying every song together like a glass to water. Classical influence bled into contemporary electronica and the rhythm never died over the course of that two hour trip. It was truly all melody indeed.

Written by Jonah Thedorff