This is the collected edition of Nils Frahm's recent, three-part 'Encores' series, 'All Encores', all on one disc.
To run through the trio; 'Encores 1' focused on an acoustic pallet of sounds with solo piano and harmonium at the core, 'Encores 2' explored more ambient landscapes and 'Encores 3' sees Nils expand on the percussive and electronic elements in his work.
“The idea behind 'All Encores' is one we had from before 'All Melody'; to separate releases each with their own distinct musical style and theme, perhaps even as a triple album. But 'All Melody' became larger than itself and took over any initial concepts. I think the idea of 'All Encores' is like musical islands that compliment 'All Melody'.”
Moulded during 'All Melody' but refined by his live performances, the 'All Encores' set is testament to Nils’ exceptional ability to craft his art both in the recording studio and on stage.
The compilation is straight outta Frahm's self-built 'Funkhaus' studio in Berlin.
The pinnacle of the ambient landscape in the middle part of the compilation is the astral 12 minute showpiece 'Spells'. Recorded through an amplified stone well Frahm found on Mallorca.
In the final third, 'Artificially Intelligent' showcases his ‘mad professor’ organ, and 'All Armed' which has been a live favourite for some time, appearing on set lists since 2015, are now available to hear on record for the very first time. The final track of Encores 3, as well as the whole series, 'Amirador', perhaps aptly nods to the Spanish word for ‘lookout’ and hints at what’s to come.
Frahm has been touring extensively following the release of 'All Melody', bringing his spectacular live show all around the world with sold out performances including the Hammersmith Apollo in London, L.A.’s Disney Hall, Brooklyn Steel, Le Trianon in Paris and Funkhaus in Berlin.

‘Loon’ is a 5-track EP that was recorded in autumn 2014 across five days at Nils’s Durton Studio in Berlin, and continues with the ambient sounds of ‘Stare’ but with the addition of more percussive elements and dub influences. For ‘Loon’ they wired the Oberheim 4 Voice and a Korg PS3100 to the patch bay/mixing desk and performed live takes. With all four hands on its pots, all mixes were recorded straight onto 2-track ½-inch tape.

Composer, musician and producer Nils Frahm steers the new edition of Late Night Tales, set for release on 11th September.
A hypnotic voyage through modern and classical composition, experimental electronics, jazz, dub techno, soundtracks and soul; Frahm's Late Night Tales haunts and beguiles. It’s not mixing, so much as gently layering, like a particularly fluffy goose-down duvet folding in on itself, the folds part of the attraction, the layers part of the overall picture being painted.
Many of the tracks have been edited, effected and re-made. The subtly overdubbed parts on Rhythm & Sound's ‘Mango Drive’ adding to the haunting hypnosis, while choral interruptions aid Miles Davis’ ‘Générique’ on its journey towards the light. Meanwhile, on Boards Of Canada’s ‘In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country’, the tempo is somewhat sluggish, the organs slurred, as Frahm slows it down to a funereal 33rpm that nevertheless fits perfectly. The purring of his girlfriend's cat Cleo transitions playfully between Nina Simone's definitive version of 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes' and unearthing the gentle electronics of Dub Tractor.
Eddy Arnold’s ‘You’re The Only Star’, a country tune that sounds like its transmitting from a mid-west diner wireless circa 1947, is straight from the soundtrack to an imaginary David Lynch movie, comforting and dismaying all at once. This crackly reality abounds, as on Finnish band Gentleman Losers’ ‘Honey Bunch’, that adds an unsettling texture, with a sound that is modern but as nostalgic. Frahm's own tracks bookend the mix, opening with an inspired "rework" of the infamous silent John Cage piece '4:33' ("I sat at the piano in silence and worked from there. I listened and took in the atmosphere and this is what came out of it") and ending with a solo piano version of 'Them', taken from his recently released score of the film 'Victoria'. The traditional Late Night Tales spoken word epilogue is voiced by actor Cillian Murphy (Inception, Batman, 28 Days Later), reading a short story by Edna Walsh (Hunger, Disco Pigs).
"I’ve really got off on working on compilations lately. It’s such a wonderful way to delve deep into your music collection. My flat is now crammed with music media of all stripes, from an old hand-cranked 78 phonograph player to 45s and albums on vinyl, my beloved old cassette tape collection, even mini-disks and, lately, WAV and MP3s. It’s all music to me. After spending hours recording from all of these diverse sources, I started to play around with the tunes, layering them, sampling, looping certain parts, extracting phrases and using all the freedom that this allowed me. If I got a little carried away or stepped on anyone’s toes in my quest to do something interesting and original, then I apologise. Some things may have accidentally landed on the wrong speed, while other spooky happening have occurred along the way, whether it’s ghostly additions of reverb and delay or simply subtle edits or reproductions, they’ve all gone into the magical stew I’ve tried to create for your pleasure and edification. I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve had creating this compilation for you but, suffice to say, I hope it will be a nice journey for your mind and heart."
- Nils Frahm, May 2015

Nils Frahm has scored a one-take German film called Victoria, with the soundtrack seeing release through Erased Tapes on June 15th.
Victoria is a one-take film shot in Berlin by German director Sebastian Schipper. It won the prize for best cinematography at this year's Berlinale film festival. It has also been nominated in seven categories—including best soundtrack—in the Deutscher Filmpreis, Germany's highest film award. For his score, titled Music For The Motion Picture Victoria, Frahm enlisted cellist Anne Müller, violist Viktor Orri Árnason and guitarist Erik K. Skodvin. The soundtrack opens with a DJ Koze edit of his own track, "Burn With Me."
The film is getting released across Germany on June 11th. There are plans to release it in other countries too, including the UK.
Frahm has also published a statement about his score:
: Dear viewer and listener,
I’ve finally written music for a film. It took me some time to do so, as I was patiently waiting for a movie that would truly speak to me. When director Sebastian Schipper invited me to work on Victoria, I knew it was worth the long wait. Does such a strong film even need music? I realised it wouldn’t be easy to create a score that embraces these bold pictures.
Luckily we were given unusual creative freedom by approaching the movie together with Sebastian Schipper, who was keeping the production and direction to one single team. The score was recorded in a special location, the former GDR broadcasting production facilities that today host Studio P4. We simply put a big screen in the middle of the room, filled it with microphones and instruments, set the movie on loop and kept improvising on top of it together—my good friends and I.
The guest musicians started their recording session by playing a cohesive take over the course of the whole movie. This was the most interesting part of the day, since they hadn’t seen the film before. They became spectators and creators at once, intuitively recording hundreds of different cues that way. You are about to listen to some of its highlights. I hope they do Victoria and your ears justice.
With love, Nils Frahm

Nils Frahm is back with the third and final instalment of his 'Encores' series.
Whilst 'Encores 1' focused on an acoustic pallet of sounds with solo piano and harmonium at the core, and 'Encores 2' explored more ambient landscapes, now 'Encores 3' sees Nils expand on the percussive and electronic elements in his work.
“The idea behind 'All Encores' is one we had from before 'All Melody'; to separate releases each with their own distinct musical style and theme, perhaps even as a triple album. But 'All Melody' became larger than itself and took over any initial concepts. I think the idea of 'All Encores' is like musical islands that compliment 'All Melody'.”
Moulded during 'All Melody' but refined by his live performances, the 'All Encores' set is testament to Nils’ exceptional ability to craft his art on stage. 'Artificially Intelligent' showcases his ‘mad professor’ organ, and 'All Armed' which has been a live favourite for some time, appearing on set lists since 2015, are now available to hear on record for the very first time. The final track of Encores 3, as well as the whole series, 'Amirador', perhaps aptly nods to the Spanish word for ‘lookout’ and hints at what’s to come.
Frahm has been touring extensively following the release of All Melody, bringing his spectacular live show all around the world with sold out performances including the Hammersmith Apollo in London, L.A.’s Disney Hall, Brooklyn Steel, Le Trianon in Paris and Funkhaus in Berlin.
The three EPs will be available as one full length release titled 'All Encores' featuring 80 minutes of music on 18 October, to follow his masterful 2018 album All Melody.

Directed by renowned artist JR, ELLIS is a lens through which the story of Ellis Island is captured and retold by the words of one immigrant. Starring Robert De Niro and featuring the visually arresting Unframed art installation, which inhabits the abandoned Ellis Island hospital complex, the short film takes you on a compelling journey through the crumbling hallways of what once stood as the gateway to America. Entwined with this unfolding narrative is a score composed by multi-talented Woodkid, performed and co-written by Nils Frahm. Whilst the delicate piano motifs of Winter Morning I culminate in a crescendo of strings, it's atop the harmonium swells on the B-side that De Niro's narration evokes the presence of those who shaped modern America so clearly. There's perhaps not been a more relevant time for this story and its themes to be brought to life in such a special way, with all proceeds from this release going towards the Sea Watch initiative (sea-watch.org), a non-profit charity dedicated to the protection and rescue of civilian refugees. Following a screening as part of Nils s Barbican Weekender, the ELLIS score will be out July 8th and available in CD, LP and digital format.

This session was recorded in just one night sometime in the beginning of 2010. Peter Broderick loved the sound of this synthesiser so much, he asked me to record some solo sketches with it. This is what I came up with. I didn't use any overdubs or punch-ins. See it as a synthesiser solo performance.

High Quality MP3 Download – 3 Track Single incl. Machinefabriek Remix & Unter Music Video directed by Ralph Etter

I first met Nils after playing a concert in Berlin in early September, 2008. We had exchanged a few emails prior, in which we had agreed to swap some records in the mail. He came up to me after the show with a beaten brown package, which he had tried to post to me two times, but both times it was returned to him because I was out on tour when the postman tried to deliver it. At any rate, that night he handed me the package containing his first lp Streichelfisch and four cd-r’s of unreleased material.
Later when I was getting in bed at the hotel, I pulled out my discman and popped in a disc of his that was labeled »Tonalagia: Piano Improvisations«. I laid back and pressed play, thinking I would fall asleep to the sound of some nice piano music. But the sound I heard was more than just nice. It was absolutely breathtaking, and it kept me awake staring at the ceiling until the cd was finished. Then I pressed play again. I had to hear it again. I think I managed to drift off at some point in the middle of the second listen, but I remember thinking to myself as I lay there stunned, that I could spend ten years trying to write an amazing piece of piano music, and still it would never be half as good as these improvisations! The next day I wrote to Nils and told him that very thought, and proposed the idea of him contributing to the solo piano series on Kning Disk.
A couple months later, in mid November, I flew to Berlin to meet up with Nils and to witness the recordings of what was to become The Bells. We rented a beautiful old church in the heart of Berlin for two nights, with a wonderful old grand piano and the most amazing natural reverb I’ve ever heard. We set up (actually Nils did most of the work while I ran around the church trying out the huge pipe organ and harpsichord) two microphones on the piano, and three more out in the room to capture the sound of the church. And then Nils just played. I laid down on a pew in the middle of the big room and listened to his playing in the same position I had heard it for the first time, on my back, staring at the ceiling.
Occasionally I arose and asked Nils to amuse my ears by making him improvise with different rules I spouted out off the top of my head, such as »Make a song using only the notes c, e, and g« (this one will be available as a bonus download track), or »Make a song that you could imagine me rapping over the top of« (track no. b3). At one point I was even inside the piano, laying on the strings, asking him to make a song called »Peter is dead in the piano«.
Those two amazing nights in the church left us with five and a half hours of recorded material, and together Nils and I have compiled what we think are the best pieces into this 40 minute collection. The role I played in putting this album together was a very small one, and yet somehow I feel more proud of this music than anything I have ever created on my own. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
Peter Broderick
February 9, 2009

Erased Tapes will release a compilation of work from musicians Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm.
Collaborative Works collects tracks from three vinyl EPs: Loon, Stare and Life Story Love And Glory. They stretch back to 2012, the year Arnalds and Frahm first linked up as collaborators. In addition to the tracks from these records, the new compilation features seven cuts from Trance Frendz, which were spontaneously recorded during a 45-minute session and originally intended to be used with a short film. Collaborative Works hits stores on October 30th.

Collecting 12 years of solo piano recordings, the Berlin composer explores some of his quietest, most intimate material yet, in which the creaking of the pedal is often as audible as the notes.

The tracks are taken from the same material he used on his recent album, All Melody, which drew on elements of techno, classical and ambient music. The LP used 12 out of the initial 60 musical sketches that he created for source material, so he's decided to release a series of EPs with what remained.
"I think the idea of Encores is like musical islands that compliment All Melody," he explains. The first EP in the series, out now, focuses on an entirely acoustic palette of sounds using piano and harmonium.
For the past two years, Nils Frahm has been building a brand new studio and making music at Funkhaus in Berlin. Out of that time came not only his 7th album, the universally acclaimed All Melody, but a huge amount of additional material, of which Encores 1 is the first offering.