Nils Frahm Encores 2

With Encores 2, Berlin composer Nils Frahm continues sorting through the sketches that didn’t find their way to the final version of 2018’s All Melody. Where the preceding EP, Encores 1, emphasised unadulterated solo piano, these tracks tilt back toward the album’s expansive soundscapes. “Sweet Little Lie” wraps lullaby-like piano figures in rainfall and tape delay, and “A Walking Embrace” brings delicately overdubbed counterpoints into the mix. The rich, sweeping pads of “Talisman” serve as a sort of ambient palate-cleanser before the grandeur of “Spells”, a 13-minute foray into arpeggiated analogue synthesisers and wordless hints of choir that ranks among Frahm's most cosmically inclined work.