Delhi-based electronic music producer Nikhil Kaul (also known as Frame/Frame) still remembers the last time he performed in Bengaluru. He was performing one of his best known songs, ‘Pastels’ from his EP Swimmers last year at Indiranagar’s The Humming Tree club. Kaul says, “I remember I almost cried with joy when we heard the crowd sing all the words with us, way louder than the PA. It was a really, really special moment for us.”
Since then, Kaul has gone to do a lot more to establish himself as one of the best new electronic music producers, combining groovy glitch hop with deep house and techno on his new EP Flutter . That might sound like a familiar combination, but Frame/Frame, which includes drummer Sahil Mendiratta, does not overstate or overdo any of the production.
He has established his label, Lowlit, with fellow Delhi producer Soulspace aka Vishnu P.S. and gone on to release a total of four EPs in two years. Each EP has had its own aims for Kaul, who says, “With each EP before Flutter , I tried to explore new territories and learned a lot about myself, both as a musician and a person. Swimmers was my attempt at understanding sound design, Hard Boiled Wonderland was more a case of exploring my song-writing abilities and with Pariah I tried to concoct something I’d like to hear in a club but with the focus on being able to play it live.”
He says Flutter is his “most complete work yet – it has elements of everything I’ve loved, from loose, downtempo beats and songwriting-oriented work to more synthesis-driven, dance floor-friendly work.” While he used to incorporate the guitars on songs such as his early hit ‘Pastels’, Frame/Frame’s music is also driven by mixing the unordinary. Says Kaul, “I relied heavily on manipulating sounds you wouldn’t often find in a normal composition — from frying pans sizzling to tapping with pencils on bathroom sinks!”
There’s more to it than that on Flutter , though. It retains Kaul’s regular collaborator Abhishek Bhatia on vocals (a producer as well as a vocalist with experimental rock band The Circus) on ‘Nymph’ and also includes singer Garima Aneja on the lead single ‘Flutter’ and Pune-based producer Rohan Hastak aka Big City Harmonics on the closing track ‘Fragment’.
He and Hastak put together ‘Fragment’ in just one day. For the other tracks, he says it was mainly him and Mendiratta toying around in the latter’s studio. “I end up writing most of the basis of a track at home. When I land up at Sahil’s studio, it’s usually with a massive instalment of demos and ideas and we work out which ones will be fun to play.”
For his Bengaluru show, Frame/Frame returns with a live set. He says he is ready to get the crowd moving all over again. “There is a whole lot of new material which includes live versions of the new EP as well as brand new tunes which we’ve not played outside the jam room. Though we’re also going to be mixing it up with older material such as ‘Pastels’ and ‘Hard Boiled Wonderland’, the vibe is going to be largely one where bringing your dancing shoes would be advisable!”
