One, I love Nils Frahm.

This piece is really interesting though. I'm familiar enough with John Cage and that the original 4:33 is an experimental silent piece, so to hear a tribute to him that is... well... not silent is interesting. Funny thing is that I heard this one on his Late Night Tales mix a few years ago and didn't really make the connection between this and 4:33 until now. John Cage is really known more for his ideas than his music personally, but his ideas inform a lot of what I love about experimental and ambient music. His whole 4:33 piece is the inspiration behind much of Brian Eno's work, Music For Airports in particular.

So, it doesn't surprise me that Nils Frahm called this recording a bit of a joke. In fact, here's the quote from him "This rework could be considered a joke. I sat at the piano in silence and worked from there. I listened and took in the atmosphere and this is what came out of it. Of course, it doesn’t do Cage justice, but it was more fun playing rather than sitting in silence."

I could talk about why I enjoy this so much, but I think the real fun of this is discussing intent and silence in music. If I had to suggest something that reminds me of this, I would go for Max Richter's Sleep album which involves some of John Cage's concepts. The 8 hour piece is designed to be played as you sleep and I find myself going back to it regularly as an example of experimental music made with intent. Worth a listen, even if you aren't awake for it.

Also, thanks for the shout out on your post. I've been on an experimental kick as of late so it's cool finding more people getting in that vibe as well.