MANY might assume an air of mystery and seriousness would pervade Nils Frahm's sold-out Brighton Dome show.

After all, the audience would be seated during a two-hour set of compositions that flitted between electronic beats and stripped-down piano pieces. However, the atmosphere was a pleasant surprise.

Walking on to a stage filled with homemade organs, mellotron, modular synths, pianos and more, Frahm broke down the spectacle of the performance, taking breaks to reveal the mysteries of what he was playing.

In between pieces he spoke of being told he talks too much, as well as joking about choosing his setlist ("you just go on Spotify and see which tracks have the most plays").

His interventions never felt forced and came as welcome relief from the intensity of his compositions. There was also the self-knowing pretension of the encore.

The set-up of the stage was a great way to showcase the mania, immersion and complexity of some of Frahm's more electronic work. Frahm resembled a sonic mad scientist rushing around the stage, but with the grace of someone in full control.

The black backdrop punctured by lights illuminating smoke made Frahm look like he was at the foreground of an apocalyptic darkness ready to consume himself and the audience around him.

He would at times take us to the brink right before everything would start to fall away. Sounds would ring out and Frahm would then bring us back closer to silence, performing pieces such as Ode from his earlier solo piano album Solo.

Skilfully spanning and showcasing works from many albums – but also making sure to get a proper shoe-in for his latest album All Melody – Frahm ended his main set with his most well-known piece Says.

It's a mesmerising track based around one arpeggiated chord built up and here it was manipulated into a fittingly euphoric end.