Published by Alessandro Violante on November 6, 2023
The story of New Frames started in 2017, when David Frisch and Mathis Mootz released their first cd, titled Resistance Through Rituals, with Hands Productions, when Udo Wiessmann‘ label started releasing some more techno-oriented releases, such as those of Supersimmetria and of Geistform.
New Frames were then considered artists standing in the halfway between techno and what was labeled as rhythmic noise, and played their role in the transition to a new hybrid sound which back then wasn’t so common, although many years before it was pioneered by Orphx. Nowadays, this mixture of techno, noise and breaks has become quite common in our music scenario.
In particular, Mathis Mootz has released music with The Panacea and m² (Squaremeter) aliases, with which he has released on HANDS, Ant-Zen and Mille Plateaux.
New Frames are then born to express a music scenario that was changing, and to propose new music frames.
After six years, we’re here to talk about their first double LP on BITE. In the last five years, the label of Phase Fatale has immediately become one of the most relevant actors of our techno scene, and New Frames have released two vinyls on that label, and have been featured in the celebrative 5th anniversary label compilation Shedding Skin.
In the meanwhile, New Frames have released other music with HANDS and Haven, but with their BITE releases they have reached the full maturation of their sound.
Scherben, the title of their new release, means “fragments”. The album, in fact, contains “fragments” exploring different aspects of their powerful wall of sound, also thanks to its featurings, that are very important in this kind of releases.
The opener Piss In Yr Mouth features Eva Vuillemin on vocals, which performance perfectly fits in with this strong, powerful and fast song, and which alternates a strong 4/4 rhythm with more syncopated beats; Lust features the label owner Phase Fatale; Silence & sound features Omon Breaker, who has recently released its first release on the label. Here we find vocals and breaks which are its trademarks.
Gravity and Dope Fiend PCP Ritual show different beats, while in Get Loose we find references to rave music thanks to its synths, its beats and its hip hop samples.
The song Scherben Der Zufunkt, which means “fragments of the future”, well represents New Frames’ music, that never stopped exploring new music frames and representing the zeitgeist since 2017.
The closing song, Der Mann Der Vom Sirius Kam (“the man coming from Syria”), only available in digital format, shows their interest for what’s happening today in the world.
With Scherben, New Frames show once again their innovative thrust and create a varied and articulated release in which they succeed at showing all they have to offer.
Label: BITE
Rating: 8