Brandt Brauer Frick

Berlin-based Brandt Brauer Frick coined the term “emotional body music” for their lean techno style, which relies on flexible, chiefly acoustic instruments and draws inspiration from minimalist composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass as well as electronic producers such as Plastikman and Ricardo Villalobos. Their first full-length release, You Make Me Real, appeared in 2010; four further studio albums have followed. Miami (2013) featured vocal contributions from post-punk pioneer Gudrun Gut through alternative R&B innovator Om’Mas Keith, while Joy (2016) placed the trio behind singer/poet Beaver Sheppard. Celebrating a decade together, Echo (2019) revisited the ethos of their earliest recordings while incorporating ten years of accumulated exploration. Their fifth album, the ambitious and collaboration-heavy Multi Faith Prayer Room, arrived in 2023 after the group enlisted numerous participants to examine utopian visions of the future.

Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer, and Paul Frick, longtime friends, first performed as a trio in 2009 on the 12-inch singles “Wallah” (The Gym) and “Iron Man” (Tartelet). At that moment the Moritz von Oswald Trio stood as the only comparable act of note. !K7 subsequently signed Brandt Brauer Frick and issued their debut LP, You Make Me Real, in November 2010; Mr. Machine followed in October 2011. Credited to the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, the latter enlisted a ten-piece orchestra, re-recorded four tracks from the initial album, and included a vocal piece written and performed by Emika. Their third album, Miami, emerged in March 2013 with a sound less oriented toward club DJs and guest vocals from Gudrun Gut, Nina Kraviz, Jamie Lidell, and Om’Mas Keith. The group appeared at Montreux Jazz, Lincoln Center, Coachella, Mutek, Sonar, and Berghain, then delivered a wide-ranging entry in !K7’s DJ-Kicks series in February 2014.

Joy, their fourth studio album, surfaced in October 2016 as an expansive yet compact, song-focused set that prominently featured singer and poet Beaver Sheppard. Echo returned in June 2019, largely instrumental save for appearances by Friedberg (aka Anna F.) and Catherine Ringer (Les Rita Mitsouko, Plaza Francia). Frick became an official member of Tangerine Dream in 2020. The EP 3535 MEMORY, compiling live recordings made between 2011 and 2020, was released in 2021, followed by the club-oriented Step in 2022. Their fifth album, Multi Faith Prayer Room, appeared in 2023 with contributions from Mykki Blanco, Marina Herlop, Sophie Hunger, and Duane Harden.