Solo

Released on the inaugural Piano Day in 2015, Solo is a collection of eight improvised motifs recorded on the Klavins 450, a unique upright piano standing 3.7 meters tall. The instrument's design allows for exceptionally long strings, resulting in a sonic profile characterized by massive low-end resonance and a clear, bell-like treble. Frahm recorded the album in a single sitting, capturing the raw, unedited dialogue between his improvisational style and the instrument's idiosyncratic physics. Historically, the album served as a fundraising tool for the construction of an even larger model, the Klavins 450, cementing Frahm's role as a patron of piano innovation. Musically, it departs from the muted, 'dusty' textures of his earlier work (like Felt) in favor of a bright, hi-fi clarity that emphasizes the sheer scale of the sound. It remains a definitive example of modern minimalism, praised for its purity and the way it highlights the physical properties of acoustic sound.