Bleep

During a time of unprecedented global upheaval — and the lengthy process of healing a broken thumb — ambient composer Nils Frahm quietly drops a follow-up to Screws. Originally conceived as the score to a short film by Benoît Toulemonde, Empty takes a similarly simple approach to its central instrument, the piano, with a soft focus on the soothing sounds of its timbric intimacy. Notes ring out into timeless suspension on ‘First Defeat’ and ‘A Shine’, while a gentle flurry of arpeggiated tones sweep their way across ‘No Step on Wing’, backdropped by the warm, material ambience of creaking pedals and piano keys.