hand model
hand model is the solo project of Ignat Frege, one half of the experimental metal band Wreck and Reference. In Wreck and Reference, Frege contributed production, acoustic drums, and vocals to their warped and noisy soundscapes. The last decade saw seven releases from the band and collaborations with diverse artists such as How To Dress Well, La Dispute, and fine art photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, including a performance during his multimedia installation at the Tate Modern Museum in London.
“manufactured joy” is Frege’s new release under the moniker hand model. The album takes the electronic elements of Wreck and Reference and combines them with genres such as pop and house, pushing the instrumentals into a “kinda maximalist” frame. With the dumb edge of Frege’s irreverent long form lyrics, hand model weighs the importance of politics, art, and the environment against the backdrop of the troughs, peaks, and uncertainties of human existence. The digitized guitars, sampled YouTube home demolitions, and continuous vocal delivery imbue the tracks with a stream of consciousness, leaving the listener only to question what for them could possibly come next.