NILS FRAHM Vinilo y CD

Review: Current scene favourite Nils Frahm teamed up with Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Olafur Arnalds on three breath taking excursions through lush ambient textures on "Stare" as a surprise release back in 2012 for label founder Robert Rath. "A1" features Frahm's entrancing irresistible melody over some gorgeous all-consuming strings and glacial soundscapes courtesy of Arnalds. "A2" with its heavenly, transcendental beauty has just got to be heard while "B1" explores darker territory with its excavating soundscapes accompanying the most hauntingly delicate cello notes. Exquisite!

Review: This is the third and final entry in Nils Frahm's Encores series and it finds the celebrated contemporary piano man layer in more percussive and electronic elements than the previous two instalments. The source music was made as part of the sessions for his last album "All Melody" and honed during live performances. As fans will know, "All Armed" here has been a staple of those live sets for some time and is 12 minutes of plaintive piano playing and wallowing synths that will sink you deep into the German's expressive world.