STORE MIX 108: NEW FRAMES

Having cemented their status as one of Berlin’s most formidable live and DJ duos, Mathis Mootz, aka The Panacea, and fellow Berlin resident David Frisch harness the raw energy of techno rave culture, drawing inspiration from its origins to the present day. Their boundary-pushing sound expands the limits of electronic body music, forging a distinctive sonic identity that is both innovative and deeply grounded in the core ethos of techno.

With releases on esteemed labels such as Bite, R-Label Group, and Haven, New Frames produce tracks that are as suited for the intensity of the dancefloor as they are for immersive home listening. Their music is characterised by intricate, multilayered sound design, powerful instrumentation, and precise programming, resulting in a captivating auditory experience.

Get to know them better as they craft a soundscape exploration for LN-CC’s 108th Store Mix, while discussing their collaborative journey, creative process, insights into the Berlin techno scene, Frisch’s recent work with sportswear label RUNNING ORDER, and more.

How did you two come together as a duo? What was the motivation behind collaborating?

Mathis: I got to know David via a mutual friend. At that time, I was more interested in techno after it had been too soft for years (minimal techno) to my liking. We had similar thoughts on where we would like to go with a collaborative project...the rest is history.

Who are your biggest musical influences, both within and outside the techno scene? How have they shaped your sound?

Mathis: While I have roots in classical music, I started to listen to electronic music when I was quite young during the first wave of techno in the early nineties. Messiah, The Prodigy, Underground Resistance, Dream Frequency, DJs like Easygroove & Tanith, and later everything that PCP Frankfurt did….. to this day are still strong influences. But you put me in a Händel or Bach concert, and I will sure sing along to that.

David: I went to a Lightning Bolt concert some years ago and was thoroughly impressed with the intensity of the experience a deliberately limited set of instruments could produce. These experiences really inspire my approach to live shows. That, but technical innovation is also always technological innovation.

How does your creative process work when producing music together? Do you have specific roles, or is it more collaborative?

David: Our approach to making music has shifted throughout the years. At the moment, our approach has become more conceptual, where we spend a lot of time discussing influences, directions and ideas we want to explore (often loosely based on some obscure micro-genre from 10 years ago) before we each work on these concepts using our distinct, preferred sonic approaches.

MATHIS: I am pretty good with kickdrums, I think……

What are the key differences in your approach to studio production versus live performances?

David: For me, studio production is about experimentation, while live performances are about expression.

MATHIS: In a live setting, you want to embrace the chaos…..working in the studio, you have to contain it.

What do you think sets the Berlin techno scene apart from others around the world?

David: The density of creative energy within electronic music and the possibilities to express such are still unmatched. The bubbling underground lies just next to the established world-travelling DJ circuit.

Mathis: People still visit Berlin from all over the world to party and experience culture at the highest level. Historically, this has been one of the key aspects of this city and still rings true today.

What challenges have you faced as artists in the Berlin techno scene, and how have you navigated them?

Mathis: what challenges does a fashion designer or a model have in a city where nearly everybody is or claims to be a fashion designer or a model?

David, you recently collaborated with RUNNING ORDER, a New York-based brand that seeks to merge the worlds of techno and sport through technically engineered apparel. Can you share the inspiration behind the graphics you designed? What themes or visual elements did you aim to emphasise?

David: I think the link between my visual practices and techno production lies in the adaption of creative approaches stemming from sound design to the visual world: Sampling impressions and reprocessing them into something to derivate yet hardly recognisable and original. The same goes for the “Club Camo” pattern I’ve created for this collaboration, where the main elements stem from a rusty door I’ve photographed somewhere. Yet, it has been processed into a repeating pattern, accentuated by a secondary pattern. Beyond that, I’ve also used AI to steal my style by running a style-transfer model to create variations of the RUNNING ORDER logo based on my prior graphical works of mine.

How did you ensure your designs would resonate with the techno community and athletic consumers? What kind of feedback were you aiming for from the audience?

David: I honestly didn’t worry about it. Since Heaven Li (head designer of RUNNING ORDER) and I are basically our own core audience, designing for our community came naturally: A raver’s second skin for sweaty nights, a textural camouflage interpretation that blends perfectly into the gritty ambience of an abandoned warehouse party.

And lastly, what have been both of your most memorable experiences as DJs and producers so far?

David: Being able to finally turn up the music so 1500 ravers (stuck in a warehouse in Paris, surrounded by police) could dance, after promoters were finally able to negotiate for the party to start…

Mathis: The next party will always be the best…