Amibient

The new album 'Spaces' out now on CD/2xLP/Digital via Erased Tapes.

EU order link: http://www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP055
US order link: http://www.midheaven.com/item/spaces-by-frahm-nils-cd

9/10 Drowned In Sound · 9/10 Clash · 4.5/5 Fact · 4.5/5 Resident Advisor · 9/10 Popmatters · 9/10 The Line Of Best Fit · 8.5/10 Under The Radar · 8/10 Exclaim! ★★★★1/2 Music Omh · ★★★★ The Irish Times · ★★★★ Arts Desk

‘Frahm truly excels’ 9/10 Uncut 
‘Frahm works his magic’ ★★★★ Mojo
‘The infinite elasticity of sound’ 7.8 Pitchfork 
‘Improvisatory, wild, heartfelt’ Interview Magazine
‘A fantastic record’ The Guardian Album of the Week 
‘Frahm creates something mesmerising’ ★★★★ The Observer
‘My favourite new piece of music this year’ Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music

erasedtapes.com · nilsfrahm.com

Spaces

Says

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Nils Frahm - Says

A beautiful finger style ambient guitar work recorded by Iohannes - open for collaboration... I couldn't resist!

Remembering - Iohannes & Daniel Calabro (daily melodies)

Iohannes rubato performance style reminds me a lot of wind - very natural, yet extremely variable in force and quantity... this piece is a great example of the gusts and lulls.

Wind - Iohannes & Daniel Calabro (daily melodies)

This seed was a KILLER.  Man.

Paul Sykes sent in the seed: "10 cities in 10 days - Melbourne, Tokyo, Beirut, Cairo, Bombay, Moscow, Rio de Janiero, Dallas, Oslo, London"

OK.  Here's how it happened.

- 10 days represents time, so 10/4 was the time sig.

- we are travelling so I needed something to represent the transitions... I used the first little repetitive melody/phrase as a 'flight' and panned it according to a map of the world... so each transition sends that phrase across the stereo field taking you to whichever part of the globe we are going next.

- I also wanted to represent the idea that when you visit a new place, the experience stays with you... so each city's 'theme' overlays the following city in some way... maybe down an octave to represent a memory, for example.  This was cool because it meant that all the different cultures and scales used would become counterpoint to each other... i've done loads of counterpoint stuff before, but not with 10 different cultures!
 
- I needed a constant to represent the 'traveller', so it was the bass-line.  It stays constant throughout the whole piece, so each country is experienced through the restriction of that.

- next came the cities... as this was a musical journey, i wanted to lend ideas from the music of the country/region to represent the city.

- Melbourne:  well... not much musical heritage as such, so this was a bit tricky.  Melbourne is an awesome city - clean, young, new, fresh, simple... so i went with a single melody line, nice major flavour and no complexity.

- Tokyo:  I used the 'Insen' scale here, and played it with a mute to give a similar effect to a koto...

- Beirut: I used a Hijaz scale, supposedly it evokes a feeling of a distant desert... I also experimented with playing the guitar using a pen vibrating on the strings to give a dulcimer effect.

- Cairo: The egyptian scale of course!  The 'Oud' is a traditional egyptian instrument, kind of like a lute... it has a cool kind of 'stereo' sound, so I doubled the melody line, and it also sounds like the strings have a very low tension - so I detuned a string a played one of the melodies that way...

- Bombay:  Man, indian music is HARD to play... I can't play quarter tones and the instruments all have such a unique sound... so out came the slide, and i just used a raga scale i found online, and through in some wild slides to represent the incredible phrasing those singers can pump out.

- Moscow: I love old russian folk songs like "the volga boatmen", so I went with a dark melody like that and harmonised it with some low 5ths, like those cool old baritone choirs....

- Rio:  Bossanova baby!  But, can't say i've played (or heard) a 5/4 bossa... so that took a bit of screwing around... added some guitar percussion to represent that great latin vibe and threw over a little jazzy melody for Jobim :)

- Dallas:  Chicken pickin'!  again, the 5/4 thing made it tricky, plus, speed ain't my thang... but I do love Albert Lee, Danny Gatton and those amazing country players...

- Oslo:  Holy crap man, this one got me for a second... then i did some research - they're HUGE in the 'black metal' department... so out came the beefy riffs, and I layered some string noise to give me 'distortion' and psycho noise (not allowed to use effects)... 

- London:  Well... There's a lot of influence here really... when I think of british music, 3 things come to my mind... 1. Royal Anthems, so the melody was "regal", 2. Group singing such as in pubs and at the football, so I layered 4 melodies, and 3. The BEATLES... a MASSIVE influence on me.  So i threw in a modulating chord progression, and a mini tribute to 'Blackbird' to settle down in our final resting place.

Paul, this one was a HUGE mission man, I really hope you dig it mate.  Definitely took some new ideas from it.

Remember to send in your seed if you want me to grow a track from your idea :)

Daily Melody #227 - Nov 9 2013 (seed: Paul Sykes - read description!!)

Like falling through clouds.

ISRC UK-EU8-15-00001

License at Music Vine

Inside Your Dream

Soulful, downbeat, dreamlike & uplifting.

ISRC UK-EU8-15-00012

Lights On The Water

Eurydice

Maked for a documental Trailer...I hope someone will enjoy it

Galápagos (Documental)

An instrumental piece I wrote, Using a combination of lo-fi sounds and orchestral instruments. Aswell as guitar and voices. 

The Sun, In a Soul at Sea

Sun, Cloud

A Softer World

Elegy

Patient Field - Murdoc

I had a dream, 
You said, 
You loved me 

I had a dream, 
You said, 
You loved me 

I had a dream, 
You said, 
You loved me 

I had a dream, 
You said, 
You loved me 

It was just a dream 
Oh

It was just a dream 
Oh

Gracious sea, 
Why so bitter? 

Gracious sea, 
Why so bitter? 

It was just a dream 
I hear, him

It was just a dream 
I hear, him

I hear him 
I see 

I hear him 
I see

I had a dream 
You said 
You loved me

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You Said

Minimal Ambient with soca & Techno elements 

Lost in Airport

Formerly known as "Isla Del Mar", this is a lush downtempo ambient track with gorgeous vocals, trumpets, kora, guitas etc. Very Balearic. 

ISRC UK-EU8-15-00003



Buy & Support Artist

All My Life

Epic Chillout Soundtrack.

ISRC UK-EU8-15-00004

Ashes & Dust

Orbital style arpeggios, shades of Tangerine Dream, 100% Chilled.

ISRC UK-EU8-15-00005

Amibient

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