Late Night Tales: Nils Frahm

Tracklist:

1- 4:33 - Nils Frahm
2- Liquindi 2 - The Baka Forest People Of South-East Cameroon
3- Divertimento Fur Tenorsaxophon Und Kleines Ensemble Part 4 - Carl Oesterhelt / Johannes Enders
4- 0181 (excerpt) - Four Tet
5- In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country - Boards Of Canada
6- It Was Willow - Bibio

1- Peaks - Dictaphone
2- SK20 - System
3- Mango Drive - Rhythm & Sound

1- It's The Talk Of The Town (Nils Frahm's '78' Recording) - Victor Silvester & His Ballroom Orchestra
2- Generique - Miles Davis
3- The Righteous Wrath Of An Honorable Man - Colin Stetson
4- Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter - Penguin Cafe Orchestra
5- Who Knows Where The Time Goes - Nina Simone
6- You're The Only Star (Nils Frahm's '78' Recording) - Gene Autry

1- O Herr Bleibet Meine Freunde, BWV 147 - Dinu Lipatti
2- Cleo The Cat - Nina Jurisch
3- Cirkel - Dub Tractor
4- Honey Bunch - The Gentlemen Losers
5- Them (Solo Piano Edit) - Nils Frahm
6- In The Morning - Cillian Murphy

Composer, musician and producer Nils Frahm curates the new edition of Late Night Tales, scheduled for release on September 11.

A hypnotic journey through modern classical and contemporary composition, experimental electronics, jazz, dub techno, film scores and soul; Frahm’s Late Night Tales both fascinates and seduces. More than mixing, it’s about gently layering, like a down comforter folding in on itself, where the creases are part of the charm and the layers contribute to the complete picture that is forming.

Many of the tracks have been edited, processed and reimagined. Subtle overdubs on Rhythm & Sound’s ‘Mango Drive’ heighten its enveloping hypnosis, while choral interjections illuminate the path of Miles Davis’s ‘Generique’ into the light. Meanwhile, on Boards Of Canada’s ‘In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country’ the tempo slows, the organs drag, as Frahm reduces it to a funereal 33rpm that nevertheless fits perfectly. The purr of Cleo, his girlfriend’s cat, playfully transitions between Nina Simone’s definitive version of ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ and Dub Tractor’s delicate electronics.

Eddy Arnold’s ‘You’re The Only Star’, a country track that sounds like it’s being broadcast from a Midwestern diner radio in 1947, could belong to the soundtrack of an imaginary David Lynch film: comforting and disturbing at the same time. This crackling atmosphere is echoed in ‘Honey Bunch’ by the Finnish band Gentleman Losers, adding an unsettling texture with a modern yet deeply nostalgic sound.

Frahm’s own compositions frame the mix. He opens with an inspired reinterpretation of John Cage's infamous silent piece ‘4:33’ ("I sat at the piano in silence and started from there. I listened and absorbed the atmosphere, and this is what emerged") and closes with a solo piano version of ‘Them’, taken from his recent soundtrack for the film Victoria. The traditional narrated epilogue of Late Night Tales is provided by actor Cillian Murphy (Inception, Batman, 28 Days Later), who reads a short story by Edna Walsh (Hunger, Disco Pigs).

“I’ve really enjoyed working on compilations lately. It’s a wonderful way to immerse yourself in your music collection. My apartment is now packed with all kinds of formats, from an old crank phonograph for 78 rpm records to 45s and LPs, my beloved cassette collection, even mini-discs, and more recently, WAVs and MP3s. For me, it’s all music. After hours of recording from these diverse sources, I started experimenting with the tracks: layering them, sampling, looping, extracting phrases, and taking advantage of all the freedom this gave me. If at any point I got too carried away or stepped on unfamiliar ground in my eagerness to create something interesting and original, I apologize. Some tracks may have accidentally ended up at the wrong speed, or strange phenomena may have occurred in the process, such as ghostly reverb and delay additions, or subtle edits and recreations. All of this has contributed to the magical concoction I tried to brew for your enjoyment and delight. I can't express how much fun I had creating this compilation, but I hope it's a beautiful journey for your mind and heart.”