Nils Frahm Shares Solo – Remains EP for Piano Day

Photo via Nils Frahm’s Facebook

Last year, Nils Frahm inaugurated Piano Day, an annual celebration of the instrument that takes place on the 88th day of any year. (Instrument fact: a piano has 88 keys!) Earlier this month, he announced Piano Day 2016, which falls on March 28 due to the leap year. To mark the event, he’s giving away a free piano to a community center in Berlin, as well as a free download of four offshoot tracks from last year’s Piano Day release, Solo. Solo – Remains is available here. Listen to “Him” and see the cover art below.

Frahm recently announced the lineup for Possibly Colliding, his marathon weekend at London Barbican starting July 1. Alongside three film screenings and  a “spatial installation,” it’ll feature sets and collaborations from Nils Frahm & Company, Penguin Cafe, Anna von Hausswolff, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Britten Sinfonia Voices, and more.

In a press release about Solo – Remains, Frahm said:

In the end, every album production leaves you with the same tough task ­ making the choices for the final track selection. You leave out some tracks for various reasons: some of the tracks are wonderful by themselves, but they simple don’t fit anywhere in the album and others have to be left out because otherwise the vinyl would become too long for a cut in good quality. However, these outtakes are often as important as the final selection and I thought, they might be a great surprise for Piano Day too. I hope in this case, it’s both…

As part of Piano Day, he’s encouraging people to donate pianos to those in need, and to continue to donate towards last year’s project, to raise €140,000 ($150,000) to build the world’s tallest piano. He’s also helping organize a series of piano-based events around the world. Find more details at the Piano Day website.

Speaking about Possibly Colliding, Frahm said:

One of the most wonderful things about my job as a composer and musician is that I rarely know what challenge will come next. I have played many festivals and I have always wondered how it would feel to organise one myself. Thanks to the Barbican, I have been given the opportunity to experience the immense fun and the tremendous headaches of doing just that by curating this year’s marathon weekend: Possibly Colliding. The work reminds me of a big puzzle, made of a million tiny parts, and it all has to come together in the end to create the one image that you had in mind. An image of all my musical friends meeting in London to create something unique together. Guided by this image, we have worked for the last year to develop a programme which will entice the listener into a different sphere of existence. Let’s all meet right there, this summer.

Read our interview from last year’s Piano Day, “Nils Frahm’s Piano Is Bigger Than Yours.”

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