Composer, musician and producer Nils Frahm steers the new edition
of Late Night Tales, set for release on 11th September. A
hypnotic voyage through modern and classical composition,
experimental electronics, jazz, dub techno, soundtracks and soul;
Frahm's Late Night Tales haunts and beguiles. It's not mixing, so
much as gently layering, like a particularly fluffy goose-down
duvet folding in on itself, the folds part of the attraction, the
layers part of the overall picture being painted. Many of the
tracks have been edited, effected and re-made. The subtly
overdubbed parts on Rhythm & Sound's Mango Drive adding to the
haunting hypnosis, while choral interruptions aid Miles Davis
Générique on its journey towards the light. Meanwhile, on Boards
Of Canadas In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country, the tempo is
somewhat sluggish, the organs slurred, as Frahm slows it down to
a funereal 33rpm that nevertheless fits perfectly. The purring of
his girlfriend's cat Cleo transitions playfully between Nina
Simone's definitive version of 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes'
and unearthing the gentle electronics of Dub Tractor. Eddy
Arnolds You're The Only Star, a country tune that sounds like its
transmitting from a mid-west diner wireless circa 1947, is
straight from the soundtrack to an imaginary David Lynch movie,
comforting and dismaying all at once. This crackly reality
abounds, as on Finnish band Gentleman Losers Honey Bunch, that
adds an unsettling texture, with a sound that is modern but as
nostalgic. Frahm's own tracks bookend the mix, opening with an
inspired 'rework' of the infamous silent John Cage piece '4:33'
('I sat at the piano in silence and worked from there. I listened
and took in the atmosphere and this is what came out of it') and
ending with a solo piano version of 'Them', taken from his
recently released score of the film 'Victoria'. The traditional
Late Night Tales spoken word epilogue is voiced by actor Cillian
Murphy (Inception, Batman, 28 Days Later), reading a short story
by E Walsh (Hunger, Disco Pigs).
'I've really got off on working on compilations lately. It's such
a wonderful way to delve deep into your music collection. My flat
is now crammed with music media of all stripes, from an old
hand-cranked 78 phonograph player to 45s and albums on vinyl, my
beloved old cassette tape collection, even mini-disks and,
lately, WAV and MP3s. It's all music to me. After spending hours
from all of these diverse sources, I started to play
around with the tunes, layering them, sampling, looping certain
parts, extracting phrases and using all the freedom that this
allowed me. If I got a little carried away or stepped on anyones
toes in my quest to do something interesting and original, then I
apologise. Some things may have accidentally landed on the wrong
speed, while other spooky happening have occurred along the way,
whether it's ghostly additions of reverb and delay or simply
subtle edits or reproductions, they've all gone into the magical
stew I've tried to create for your pleasure and edification. I
can't tell you how much fun I've had creating this compilation
for you but, suffice to say, I hope it will be a nice journey for
your mind and heart'
- Nils Frahm, May 2015
CD Version (incl. unmixed tracks via download as mp3/wav)