Nils Frahm has pointed fans towards his nine track mini-album 'Screws' – download it below.
An experienced composer, producer and musicians, Nils Frahm seems to create art as naturally as some people draw breath. So when the songwriter fell from his bunk bed, breaking his thumb in the process, he was presented with a dilemma. Numerous walks in the park followed, before Nils Frahm decided to soldier on. With his thumb strapped up the composer returned to the piano, using nine fingers to create material inspired by his condition.
The results are gathered on 'Screws'. Nine songs with nine fingers, these intimate piano recordings are an odd diversion even by the standards of Nils Frahm's own, typically eccentric, discography. 'Screws' is currently available as mp3s or in full 24-bit 44.100 kHz audio quality HERE. Meanwhile, Erased Tapes are planning to give the mini-album a physical release later this year.
Here's a message from Nils Frahm to explain more…
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I am sitting in front of a sheet of paper. My right hand is bending over my left thumb. The first day I got out of my cast I could bend it by 15°. Now I am already at 50° and that makes me happy. Things are going uphill… As you can imagine, it is really bad news for a pianist when he gets diagnosed with a broken thumb. That day I was sitting in the emergency room, feeling rather dizzy while thinking of a zillion shows coming up and all the people involved around it. I realised in that moment how busy things have become. It is hard to turn down interesting projects and opportunities, since I surely love my work. It actually never felt like work.
Playing piano and playing it for wonderful people is the greatest joy I can imagine. For a couple of days I felt like this all could be over. How pathetic. But hey – also feeling sorry for yourself has its place somewhere. All of a sudden I had so much time, an unexpected holiday. I cancelled most of my schedule and found myself being a little bored. Even though my doctor told me not to touch a piano for a while, I just couldn't resist. I started playing a silent song with 4 fingers on my left and the remaining 5 on my right hand. I set up one microphone and recorded another tune every other night before falling asleep. The day I got rid of my cast I had recorded 9 little tunes. They have helped me feel less annoyed about my accident and reminded me that any good is something I can only achieve, when I am making the most out of what I've got. Thank you all for listening!
