A few years ago, in November, I was visiting my friend Hugh in Cardiff. I hadn't been to Cardiff in a while, and that weekend Mclusky and Jarcrew were playing a reunion show and we'd got tickets (I was never a huge fan of either band, but both were hugely important to a lot of people I knew who'd been at university in Cardiff before I moved there). It was shortly after my birthday, so after a few beers in town, we returned to Hugh's flat and he presented me with this record as a birthday present. Afterwards we watched Alan Partridge on TV.
I'd started to hear the name Nils Frahm around the place, but really knew little about him. I'd certainly never listened to any of his music before the needle hit the record. From the off I was enjoying what I heard. I'd been listening to post-rock bands for a number of years and had not long been listening to Max Richter, having been introduced through his excellent Infra record. In short, I was perfectly primed for Nils Frahm's post-classical piano works.
Spaces is a collection of live recordings, and contains some text explaining that it came to life because his live shows and his studio recordings often feel very different. Having seen him live twice and listened to a few of his studio albums I can say that the studio albums only capture a fraction of the enjoyment I got out of seeing him live; they're great albums, but I was astounded by his live show (the first time I saw him was in the Roundhouse in May 2015, when he opened the show with a 45-minute long piece over three pianos; I didn't want it to end. The second time was at the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall with a £5 ticket, quite the bargain).
It's not often I'd recommend a live album as a starting point for someone wanting to get into an artist (or a best-of for that matter - both feel a bit like cheating), but I'd 100% recommend Spaces to anyone wanting to get into Nils Frahm's music. It's got a bit of everything - on the first side alone you have post-rock with Says and classical with Said and Done. The real star of the show is side 3 featuring just one track made up of four songs seamlessly strung together - For, Peter, Toilet Brushes (where he literally plays the stings inside his grand piano with toilet brushes) and More. In terms of getting close to the live experience, this is excellent - both the way the songs flow fluidly from one to another and the length of song that creates is very much how I remember his live show. Hammers is also worth a mention for being instantly fun and a more concise highlight.
Format: Double 12", die-cut sleeve, two inserts
Tracks: 11
Cost: £0 new
Bought: Gift
When: 14/11/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
