Nils Frahm Essentials

Since 2005, Nils Frahm has been building an impressive body of work that melds modern electronic and ambient music with the quiet grandeur of classical. The virtuosic German keyboardist and composer has also embraced the possibilities of technology, adding more ambient textures and drones while drawing out surprising depth from his minimalistic approach. Melodies seem to linger in mid-air on tracks like 2009’s “Ambre”, while 2019’s “Sweet Little Lie” is a lullaby made even dreamier with delay effects. Frahm is also fond of coy concepts, whether they involve prepared piano or other offbeat angles: 2012’s Screws is named after the four pieces of metal that were inserted into his broken thumb after a fall from his studio’s bunk bed, forcing him to craft the album with his remaining nine fingers. He has scored several films too, broadening his compositional palette with strings for 2015’s Victoria. Yet, he remains singularly devoted to the piano as his primary instrument. “Sometimes, it feels like an obsession you just don’t have under control,” he told Apple Music in 2021. “So I’m also mad at the instrument because it has so much power over me.”