Allan Nilles: If I weren’t a musician …

In this series, we introduce members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and their passions beyond music. Today: violist Allan Nilles, who has created an alter ego.

Do you know what electroacoustic art pop is? If not, you’ve probably never heard the music of Ayjay Nils. The 35-year-old hails from Chicago, but has been living in Berlin for over a decade. Philharmonic concertgoers know him as Allan Nilles, a member of the viola section of the Berliner Philharmoniker. But let’s start at the beginning.

A neighbor once advised Allan Nilles’ parents to have their children learn an instrument as early as possible — it would increase their chances of getting a scholarship to Harvard or Yale. And so Allan Nilles began viola lessons at the age of three. While this decision didn’t take him to an Ivy League school, it did lead him to the equally prestigious Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory. Seeking further artistic growth, Allan Nilles attended the Lucerne Festival Academy in 2013 and became a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker in January 2015. Just one month later, he won the audition for a viola position in the orchestra, which he took up in May 2015. So far, so good.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in spring 2020 and the first lockdown was imposed, many artists and musicians were forced into abrupt inactivity. Allan Nilles recalled his composition lessons at Juilliard and began experimenting with sampling, using existing music to create a new work. Once he had finished a few songs, Nilles played them for his wife. She encouraged him to release an album; and so Allan Nilles became Ayjay Nils.

Does he consider himself a composer? Nilles hesitates. “I’m probably a mix between a composer and a producer,” he says. “What fascinates me about sampling is the limitless creative potential it gives you as an artist.” From Wagner operas to the meowing of cats — he’ll use just about anything to celebrate the beauty of the sound universe.

Two years ago, in Japan, Allan Nilles was confronted with an overwhelming amount of waste: plastic bottles, wrappers, disposable chopsticks, unnecessary packaging everywhere. Instead of simply getting upset — though he admits that it was upsetting — he recorded as many sounds as possible using this trash, creating a remix titled BANG BANG BANG BANG.

Collaboration is especially close to Ayjay Nils’ heart. He has played with the Berlin-based band Move 78, whose sound strikes a balance between free-flowing jazz and hip-hop, as well as with pianist Tom Schneider. Most recently, he performed with fellow orchestra member and flautist Egor Egorkin at the Philharmoniker’s “Ausklang” series. And with his friend, Italian percussionist Stefano Di Puma, Ayjay recently founded a band called Plastic Pigs.

Through it all, Allan Nilles’ viola is always at his side. He loves to electronically modulate its dark tones and incorporate them into his own compositions. The different spheres of his musical life feed into each other. Ever since he began working with electronic music, he’s gained new perspectives on chamber music. And when he recently heard a particular horn motif in a Mahler symphony, he immediately recognized it as a great sampling opportunity. In moments like that, it's hard to know whether Allan Nilles or Ayjay Nils is at work.