German pianist and composer Nils Frahm combines styles of classical pianists and contemporary composers to create gorgeous and soothing piano and ambient music with an unconventional approach. The prolific composer focuses as much on silence and superfluous sounds in his music such as a piano pedal creaking or recording static as he does notes and melodies, which gives a unique flare and an immediacy to everything he does.

In addition to his solo work, Frahm has released collaborations with renowned performers including Ólafur Arnalds, F. S. Blumm, Anne Müller, and Woodkid. In 2021, Frahm released a full-length album, Old Friends New Friends, featuring 80 minutes of archival solo piano works that didn't make it onto the composer's previous albums. Broad and ambitious in scope, he explores ambient minimalism and borrows classical tenets to create unique and beautiful compositions.

Known for sweeping audiences away no matter what mood they're in, Frahm's live performances are not to be missed.

Nils Frahm Live in Concert

Nils Frahm began learning piano at an early age, mastering the instrument and taking music lessons throughout his childhood. The son of renowned art and nature photographer Klaus Frahm, Nils Frahm grew up near Hamburg, Germany, learning the styles of both classical and contemporary composers. He was also fascinated by mixing boards and examining the quality of recorded sound.

Now he works as an accomplished performer, composer and producer based out of the studio he built at Funkhaus, the renowned concert and events venue in Berlin.

His first physical album release, Streichelfisch, came out in 2005 and he has been incredibly prolific ever since. Interestingly, his 2022 album, Music for Animals, is three hours long and is notable because of the absence of piano in favor of ambient soundscapes. The striking album cover features one of his father's famous black-and-white photographs of a hand holding a goldfish in a bag.

Recorded during the height of the pandemic, Frahm said that his inspiration for Music for Animals was "something as mesmerizing as watching a great waterfall or the leaves on a tree in a storm...some people like watching the leaves rustle and the branches move. This record is for them."

Don't miss your chance to get swept away by the understated beauty and emotion of Frahm's compositions on his upcoming Music for Animals tour.