Space is the place for nonkeen

The LP has a certain Krautrock feel - an extension of Can for a new generation. And considering the backgrounds of nonkeen’s members - Nils Frahm, Frederic Gmeiner and Sebastian Singwald - it doesn’t come as much of a surprise. From an early age, these German musical prodigies were coming together to explore the possibilities of tape mechanics - and eventually, progressive jazz. Their story up until this point in time is now one of folklore.

Oddments of the Gamble is nonkeen’s second, and Nils Frahm’s seventh, LP in the past twelve months alone. You would think we’d be getting bored of Frahm by now, but this is far from the case. His ability to surprise and recontextualise the use of harmonics within various applications of keyboards, pianos and synthesizers is limitless. And even though Frahm shines on Oddments of the Gamble though his exquisite use of the Rhodes, the real stars of this record come through the application of percussion, as performed by Gmeiner and Andrea Belfi. The tight snare sounds and dramatic crashes exemplify the sporadic rhythms patterns that drives the bass and keys, and harness the records real jazz sound.

It’s a real space-rollercoaster of a record, with short tracks with loud noises, embodying the the freestyle nature in which the recordings were approached with. Each track fades into consciousness through sweeping reverbed modular patterns, like distance echoes beaming down from space. "Glow", "World Air" and "Obviously Algebra" stand out through their brash bombast, while softer paced affairs "Diving Platform" and "The Monkey in the Machine" inject melancholy through sweeping, off-kilter minor key inflections.

Space is very much the place for these three gentlemen, and their ability to haunt and craft galactic jazz is one that only the Gods themselves can match.