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 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. 

On Hand Model’s new EP Game Changers (April 29, 2022), Frege has teamed up with Gloved Hands, one of the many aliases of Morgan Fox, who has released music across the spectrum of genres from punk to ambient on labels such as Ghost Ramp and Kompakt. Fox’s strangely infectious electronic music provides the foundation for Frege’s apocalyptic reactions. Together, they achieved a kick drum laden “dystopop,” a reflective disco in which fear meets groove. 

Game Changers is music for the end times and the dance floor, with Frege and Fox letting us know that we don’t need to feel guilty about having both.  Today Hand Model offers a first look at Game Changers with a visualizer for its propulsive first single, “Toxic Flower.”

Frege’s debut release as Hand Model— Manufactured Joy (self released, 2020)— took the electronic elements of Wreck and Reference and combined them with genres such as pop and house, pushing the instrumentals into a “kinda maximalist” frame.  The Thinking Monster (The Flenser, 2021) was Frege's collaboration with the DJ and producer WTCHCRFT. The release described a harsh modernization over minimal and noisy beats. Both releases were experiments in electronic music combined with the dumb edge of Frege’s long form lyrics that expose the comedic irony in human desperation. 

Hand Model continue their prolific output with Game Changers — preorder here and see Hand Model on April 7th at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles.