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 (self released, 2020) was Frege’s debut release as Hand Model. The album 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.  With the dumb edge of Frege’s irreverent long form lyrics, Manufactured Joy 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.

The Thinking Monster (The Flenser, 2021) is Frege's new collaboration with the producer WTCHCRFT. The two tracks exhibit heavy beats over droning samples, contrasting with the maximalist instrumentation of Manufactured Joy. The enduring vocal delivery describes a poisonous modernization and the terrors of an environmental conclusion, whose possibilities edge at endlessly terrifying as we continue to look for pleasure in every last bit of light.

Photo by Annie Lee