{"product_id":"night","title":"Night","description":"\u003cp\u003eNils Frahm fulfills last year’s promise to follow up \u003cem\u003eDay\u003c\/em\u003e, the collection of solo piano music he released last March. \u003cem\u003eNight\u003c\/em\u003e contains five new tracks on vinyl. A CD version, \u003cem\u003eNight and Day\u003c\/em\u003e, includes all eleven tracks from both \u003cem\u003eDay\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eNight\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrahm recorded the pieces on \u003cem\u003eNight\u003c\/em\u003e on the Klavins M450 piano, installed in his studio at the renowned Funkhaus complex in Berlin. It was built by German-Latvian piano maker David Klavins for the first Piano Day in 2015, a celebration that will mark its 10th anniversary this March. At 4.5 meters tall and weighing over a tonne, the model was the largest upright piano in the world at the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe record is a reminder that, although he has since become celebrated for the complex, intricate arrangements of his most commercially successful multi-instrumental albums, Frahm first made his name with similarly meditative piano compositions on albums like 2009’s \u003cem\u003eThe Bells\u003c\/em\u003e, 2011’s \u003cem\u003eFelt\u003c\/em\u003e, and 2012’s \u003cem\u003eScrews\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNight\u003c\/em\u003e opens at a glacial pace with ‘Wesen’, giving notice of the more subdued nature at the heart of this thirty-minute collection. It conjures images of Frahm, lit only by a candle, huddled over his instrument, playing for the sheer companionship that it offers, while also prompting acknowledgment of his ability to tease affecting melodies from minimal means.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘Monuments Again’ is more immediately accessible, its subtly jazzy nature disguising a gentle melancholy, with Frahm’s fingers dancing over the keyboard with increasing intensity until, at its conclusion, he reiterates its central theme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite its name, ‘Kanten’ – ‘Angles’ in English – is a more traditional affair, a timeless piece of solo chamber music devoted early on to the piano’s lower keys, lending it not so much a sense of menace as a measure of foreboding, at least until Frahm’s right hand takes up the quietly uplifting, melodic initiative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe eight-minute long ‘Listening Over’ also feels initially like a more formal affair, distinguished as much by quiet trills as enviable patience, Frahm often hesitating carefully over its notes, ultimately evoking a sense of relief without the normally attendant tension.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf, however, there’s been a certain air of darkness up to this point, \u003cem\u003eNight\u003c\/em\u003e closes with ‘Canton’, its delicious airiness perhaps the record’s equivalent of a glimpse of dawn, its tender melody like the day’s first sunbeams peeking over the horizon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s a perfect conclusion to a typically beguiling collection that, as always, points to a musical character that is immediately, distinctively Frahm’s. It also highlights why the German pianist has continued throughout his career to return loyally to the piano as his first love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter all, it’s notable that, even during his recent, expansive live performances, which find him leaping between multiple keyboards, synths, and even a glass harmonica, Frahm has always made space for such works. That’s something documented on the likes of 2013’s \u003cem\u003eSpaces\u003c\/em\u003e, where ‘Said And Done’ is a highlight, and last year’s \u003cem\u003eParis\u003c\/em\u003e, during which ‘You Name It’ – itself taken from \u003cem\u003eDay\u003c\/em\u003e – ‘Some’ and ‘Re’ provide a crucial interlude between his more demanding, grandiose works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNight\u003c\/em\u003e, like \u003cem\u003eDay\u003c\/em\u003e, confirms that Frahm remains a prolific master of affecting simplicity, tenderness, and romance, and as capable as ever of unforgettable, epigrammatic succinctness.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Leiter","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":51572999881035,"sku":"R9589-5389","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":51573017936203,"sku":"R9589-5199","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/3a7bbc31-4714-5bd9-d4f4-2ed9c346a8ed_0660634e-5ea6-4df2-86a9-ccc826977eaa.jpg?v=1752234202","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/products\/night","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}