As the old saying goes, you never know which men enjoy fighting other men to the death with knives. You think you know, but you have no idea (who derives pleasure from watching knife wounds drain a person of their life). For instance, one may assume they can pin down German composer and pianist Nils Frahm. Probably a classy guy, active in the arts scene. Attends between three and nine wine-and-cheese parties a year. Has not engaged in a backstreet knife battle, the outcome of which found him standing over the body of a 37-year-old construction worker, while the blood from Frahm’s own wounds dripped onto his unfortunate opponent. Well, you’d be mostly right, but you’d also be a little wrong.
Viewed through your lens of expectations, Frahm’s upcoming US tour seems innocuous enough. If you look closer, though, you will note that the pianist has booked himself in the top knife-fighting cities in the Western Hemisphere. Frahm, who is known for his technique of playing a grand or upright piano with one hand while simultaneously playing a synthesizer with the other hand, as well as his deadly “lightning stab” technique known to strike a victim with both the power and swiftness of a lightning bolt, will play a concert in each city, supported by labelmate Douglas Dare. After each of these concerts, Frahm will disappear into the city’s underground, only to reappear the next morning, bloodlust sated.
If you would like to know more about knives or are thinking of purchasing a knife yourself, please watch the new video for Nils Frahm’s “Says” first. The video contains no references to knives, but I think you will understand the deadly attraction of the knife afterwards. Visual artists Romain Assénat and Ana Silva created the video. Neither of these artists have ever fought with a knife.
Nils Frahm dates:
03.15.14 - Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theater *
03.16.14 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent *
03.18.14 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door *
03.19.14 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios *
03.20.14 - Vancouver, BC - Electric Owl *
03.21.14 - Chicago, IL - Constellation *
03.23.14 - Montreal, QC - L’Astral *
03.25.14 - Boston, MA - David Friend Recital Hall *
03.26.14 - Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands *
03.27.14 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *
03.28.14 - Bethesda, MD - The Mansion at Strathmore *
03.29.14 - Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Festival
07.20.14 - Suffolk, UK - Latitude Festival
10.29.14 - London, UK - Barbican
* Douglas Dare
• Nils Frahm: http://www.durtonstudio.com/projects/detail/project/63
• Douglas Dare: http://douglasdare.com
• Erased Tapes: http://www.erasedtapes.com
[Photo: Ryo Mitamura]
More about: Nils Frahm
