Tripping with Nils Frahm

Do not enter unless beautifully minimal atmospheric music is your thing. If it is, come in a bathe. Before watching this, I knew the name Nils Frahm, but not really heard any of his music. I will always maintain that witnessing a live performance is the best way to discover new music but although this is only recording of such an event, it's a pretty close second. Nils is in Berlin, at the amazing looking Funkhaus. Recorded across several performances in 2018, what's essentially a concert film features an indulgent array of cameras capturing him playing solo. Surrounded in the round on an intimate stage by synths, sequencers, pianos and probably a ton of stuff I can't accurately identify. These sort of films can be a little hit or miss, but for me this is a hit. The music is sublimely beautiful, the setting looks wonderful and the cut is elegant and simple. There's no fluff, nothing more than there need be. As soon as artists are able to tour again. Go see Nils Frahm. I'll be there.

I was at two of the shows shown here, and the film captures well how special it felt to be there. Seeing him live is always a pretty ecstatic, illuminating experience, and this made me feel like I was back there, in 2018. Also captures quite well how special and incredible Funkhaus is. Easily my favorite venue in the entire world. Anyway, it's a wonderful film.

Beautiful capturing of an outstanding artist at work. Some of the reviews I read on the MUBI site were very critical. In a way it is understandable - if you have no understanding of music technology it may be difficult to appreciate just how difficult it is to pull this off in a live context. Bravo Nils and the production team for an amazing job.

Puts you directly back to your own live experience if you had the privilege of it. For all others it's nothing less than the best equivalent to it - particularly in times of Covid. A great performance by a genius musician brilliantly captured. Highly recommended!

Nils Frahm is legitimately a genius. There is no other way to describe the impression you are left with after this incredible, intimate and rousing performance.

The concert is performed, fittingly, with Frahm centered in the audience on a small stage surrounded by a wall of musical instruments. And he then proceeds to build a haunting and evocative mood, spending the next hour and a half taking us on a journey through a range of emotions from melancholy, to exhilaration over pensiveness and solemnity. It is rare to experience a single cohesive performance that so brilliantly evokes every emotion along the journey, without feeling forced or incoherent.

Every piece is amazingly performed, with a Nils Frahm that is clearly completely and wholly immersed in his performance and the music. It is truly a pleasure to watch not just his mastery of the keyboard and synthesizers, but also his plain love and enjoyment of the music.

I've listened to this concert half a dozen times and I don't think I'll ever stop enjoying the performance.

Lastly, while the music is available on streaming services, I found the recording from Funkhaus Berlin WAY more engaging and moving. I would STRONGLY recommend watching the live performance. It is a league apart from the recording I heard in Spotify.