nonkeen

Nonkeen comprises a German experimental trio formed by pianist and composer Nils Frahm alongside his longtime companions from childhood, Frederic Gmeiner and Sepp Singwald. The three have shared musical endeavors since their elementary school days. Their spontaneous sessions evoke memories of their early years, blending elements reminiscent of Krautrock with understated electronic jazz and ambient textures in a somewhat indistinct manner.

They initiated joint recordings toward the end of the 1980s after Singwald, residing in Berlin, paid a visit to Frahm and Gmeiner in Hamburg—where the latter pair had spent their formative years—equipped with a tape recorder. This led to an exchange of cassettes containing both compositions and conversations. Subsequently establishing themselves as a group, Gmeiner and Frahm would travel to Berlin to join Singwald each summer, staging shows at a local amusement park.

Tragedy struck in 1997 when a carousel malfunction sent two seats hurtling into their equipment during a gig, prompting the decision to cease their collective efforts. Ten years afterward, with Gmeiner and Frahm now based in Berlin, the friends reconvened and resumed their partnership. By revisiting and refining tapes from their youth, they generated fresh improvisations within Singwald's basement facility, eventually enlisting percussionist Andrea Belfi to add drum overdubs across multiple pieces.

By 2015 the project reached completion, resulting in the February 2016 release of The Gamble via R&S. After making their initial live appearances and embarking on a first European tour that spring, Nonkeen issued a follow-up set titled Oddments of the Gamble.