Frameworks

From an early age, UK-based producer Frameworks was inadvertently immersed into a world of creativity. His father, an artist for advertising agencies, would conjure up drawings straight out of his mind and into the hands of marketing executives. However, it was his mother who(seemingly out of nowhere) piqued his musical interests. Frameworks remembers one holiday season when his mother allowed him and his brother to choose a musical instrument as a Christmas gift. “...he [his brother] was straight away like, guitar,” he recalls. “I sat on it for a couple of weeks and eventually said ‘I’d like a drum kit.” Although his dedication to art and graphics would eventually lead him to art school, Frameworks pursued his percussion-led passion after joining a band where he played, you guessed it, the drums. “We played a lot of Manchester venues and stuff like that, kind of small clubs and stuff like that,” he says of his time in a band. “It wasn’t on a big scale. It was just four guys thrashing it out.” Having pivoted into music, Frameworks left art school and began developing his musical know-how, absorbing everything from performance to jazz and drumming. However, it was a production course that would form the foundation for Frameworks, the DJ and producer we know today. “There was a module in one of my courses that was more production, and I just fell in love with it,” he expressed. “Just the fact that I could sit and create without having to rely on other people’s schedules and stuff like that. I was just blown away.” After a brief stint at the renowned record label Ninja Tune, Frameworks knew his career would orbit the electronic music sphere. “I think it just flipped my head the kind of people that were there. It was just crazy,” he says. “I actually met Diplo in the basement where they were sending out records.” If you listen to the records that Frameworks produced early in his career, you will notice his musical influences permeate the airwaves. Percussion, strings, and haunting vocals were all part of his identity as a young producer. “Coming into my music, it was from more of a live perspective,” he speaks on his earlier work. “So my earlier albums were laced with more live instrumentation, some strings, and stuff like that.” Compare that to his latest album, Reflections, the change in tune is evident. Although the emotional attachment still resonates as it did in his debut EP, Vanish, there’s been a clear shift to more club-oriented releases. When asked about his shift in sound, Frameworks alludes to his evolving ear saying, “My taste has changed. It’s just become a bit more dancefloor-oriented, especially after the pandemic.” Frameworks joins countless electronic acts that have pivoted to a more upbeat sound post-pandemic. He recognizes this movement, saying, “I see this too, especially with the UK scene and UK garage coming back a bit,” he continues, “I wasn’t able to have those experiences. From DJing in Manchester quite often to then nothing. That was my fix, you know?” A married father of three, Frameworks also refers to a shift in focus over the last few years. He credits his wife and children as inspiration for his recent concentration on his craft. “I’ve always been quite prolific because I’m always writing, always creating something,” he says. “But the last four years I think really, I don’t know, really gone for it, you know what I mean?” With a sharper focal point, Frameworks has been thriving in the festival circuit outside of his Manchester home. His intricate instrument-led productions have been heard from Costa Rica to Canada, amassing a legion of followers along the way. Although his career has taken him across varied landscapes, there’s still much to accomplish. “I’d love to go on a big tour,” he exclaims. “I’ve never done a bus tour, so I’d love to tour in a bus. Just you know, support acts for someone big or something like that. I’d love to have the opportunity to do that.” If Frameworks continues on this upward trajectory, soon enough he will be granted the chance to headline his own cross-country tour, bus and all.