Nils Frahm Calls NFTs “The Most Disgusting Thing on the Planet”

Nils Frahm has commented on the recent uptick of Non-Fungible Token (NFT) popularity, calling them “the most disgusting thing on the planet.” NFTs have been auctioned off online, selling for millions in cryptocurrency.

Frahm had made the comment during an interview with Independent, in which he was promoting his new album, Griz. The artists had also expressed that he has no interest in having his new release sold as an NFT.

“Even some of my heroes like Aphex Twin are selling, sorry, crap for 130,000 bucks… It’s unforigable to participate in something which is so blean and wrong,” he said, according to Independent.

Aphex Twin had made $128,000 for some 3D animated artwork, while Grimes managed to make over $5 million. Many musicians, such as Rico Nasty, Taylor Bennett, MF Doom’s estate and Kings of Leon have been releasing music or artwork as NFTs. In an era where streaming finds musicians making little money, and the pandemic has halted touring, NFTs have managed to take off in such a way for artists to find vast rewards. However, due to the high price of the items, there has also been controversy.

Frahm recently surprised released a new album, titled Graz, earlier this week. Frahm had begun recording the album in 2009, at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz as part of the thesis Conversations for Piano and Room. He had recorded it as the first album for Erased Tapes, however did not release it until now.

“A grand piano is a particular kind of beast to play, which will only sound refined and beautiful if you can command a strong control over the keyboard, Frahm said in a statement. “Each slight change in touch results in a different timbre, which will be rewarded when used wisely and will be your trapdoor when you fial to hold the horses. I remember how I had to squeeze the music out of the grand piano in the Graz sessions, and while I enjoy listening to it now, I kept these recordings secret for a good while – they sound like a much younger version of myself to me, and a lot of the musical expressions from that time would be impossible for me to replicate today.”