Graz Travel Guide for Tourists

Nils Frahm, the trailblazing sonic pioneer, has quietly changed the musical landscape, reincarnating the centuries-old figure of a pianist-composer for a new generation of music fans. His word-of-mouth popularity has steadily grown, and so has the pop-culture profile of his instrument – the piano. In 2015, Nils founded Piano Day with a team of like-minded friends, to help celebrate one of humankind's greatest inventions. As part of this endeavor, he has occasionally released albums of piano recordings to mark the occasion.

One such record is Graz, an unheard snapshot of a young Nils Frahm, recorded at Mumuth, the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, in 2009. The album was part of a thesis project titled "Conversations for Piano and Room," produced by Thomas Geiger, which went on to receive an award in the Classical Surround Recording category at the 127th AES Convention in New York.

At the time, it was decided to keep the grand piano recordings from the Graz sessions locked away, and instead, Nils focused on his close-miked, dampened piano explorations, which would become his acclaimed studio album Felt in 2011. However, two of the pieces from Graz, most notably "Hammers," lived on as part of his live set and were later expanded upon and re-recorded for his breakthrough 2013 record, Spaces – a collage of field recordings from concerts that broke the Fourth Wall and included audience coughs.

Over the course of his mercurial career, Nils Frahm has continuously pushed and pulled at the boundaries and parameters of his prolific work. He has physically altered his piano, playing with prepared strings (Felt), a modified body (Scrubs, recorded with 9 fingers and a broken thumb), and different scales (Solo, recorded on the 3.7-meter-high Klavins M370). He has also explored various layers of formats, as evidenced by last year's Tripping with Nils Frahm, which nested his studio setup inside a live performance, concert film, and live album.

Now, with the release of Graz, Nils Frahm has found the final frontier for his musical explorations: time itself and his own discography. The album, which was recorded over a decade ago, serves as a surprise debut for Nils on the Erased Tapes label, where he has since become a prominent figure.

The track listing for Graz is as follows: 1. Lighter 2. O I End 3. Because This Must Be 4. Kurzum 5. And Om 6. Hammers 7. Crossings 8. About Coming and Leaving 9. Went Missing

Through this unexpected discovery, Nils Frahm continues to delight and surprise his ever-growing fan base, further solidifying his status as a true visionary in the world of contemporary piano music.

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