Exclusive Premiere: Frameworks Announces ‘Reflections’ LP And Previews The Single And Music Video For ‘Circles’

Manchester-based artist Frameworks has piqued the interest of musicophiles around the world over the past decade. His lush melodic and emotive sound featuring warm blossoming strings and pulsing bass has allowed him to perform at acclaimed festivals such as Coachella, Electric Forest, Lightning in a Bottle, Camp Bisco and Shambhala. Today, January 19, Forbes receives an exclusive announcement for his Reflections LP and the premiere of his single and music video for “Circles.”

Reflections is slated for release on Friday, April 14. The album is the producer’s most liberating project yet. It was written over two years during the pandemic, and it is defined by openness, vulnerability and honesty. “Circles” follows this as the track boasts tinkering synths, haunting vocals, thumping bass and more. The music video accompanying the single is about looking inward, facing fear and other overwhelming emotions, and trying to become at peace with them.

Both “Circles” and Reflections showcase his new sonic and philosophical mentality, as he is moving away from the downtempo, nostalgic stylings of his past work into an electronica-fueled sound. At the core of this new sound is his son, who was diagnosed with a life-limiting condition at nine months old and given three months to live. Luckily, he survived. Seven years later, Frameworks draws inspiration from his son’s resilience and strength as he now seeks to cherish each day.

Here, Frameworks shares with Forbes the inspiration for Reflections, the meaning of his music video “Circles,” his son surviving his life-threatening illness and more.

Lisa Kocay: Can you describe your sound in three words?

Frameworks: “Melodic, emotive and UK.”

Kocay: What was the inspiration for Reflections?

Frameworks: “So it was a bit of a journey into trying to figure out what drives me to write music, what kind of songs I was making that I was resonating with. I think it became clear that it was the things that I wrote really quickly with regards to writing in response to an event or something that happened where there those emotions were quite prevalent in those days that it was written so it was more emotional than technical writing.”

Kocay: The LP was written over two years during the pandemic, and it is defined by openness, vulnerability and honesty. Can you further discuss this?

Frameworks: “It was about trying to reflect those emotions as and when they came up honestly, without trying to dilute it. I felt that going back to ideas that [I had] when I wasn’t in that head space when I started the song, it would be a bit of a kind of push and pull because my head space wasn’t in that moment. I think it was really important to get as much out in a short space of time. With regards to writing, then I could come back to production and replace things and change them out. But predominantly trying to get as much writing down when it was flowing, it felt like I was being honest as possible.”

Kocay: Can you talk about the inspiration for the music video for “Circles”?

Frameworks: “It’s about going inward to try and deal with fear or another kind of overwhelming emotion and trying to come to peace with it. So when the girl closes her eyes, she does it twice in the video, she’s searching inwards to try and find resolve over something. The first time she does it, she enters the water and she’s obviously not in a great place. Then later, in the last scene of the video where she goes into the water, she finds peace with this turmoil. It’s a bit deep but reflects a search inward.”

Kocay: At the core of your new sonic explorations is your son, who, at nine months old, was diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, only given three months to live, and survived. Can you discuss how this impacts the music you make today?

Frameworks: “I think he’s taught me a lot. He teaches me every day to be present, be in the moment and not take these moments for granted. He’s got so much resilience and strength. He’s non-verbal but he’s always happy. He’ll have a seizure and then 20 minutes later he is happy and bouncing about. That is a lesson to us all in strength and to bear witness to the present moment, I think. He’s taught me a lot about being present and not taking life for granted.”

Kocay: So would you say your son is the biggest influence on the music you make today or do you have someone else that’s a big influence on your music?

Frameworks: “I think my family as a whole is up there. I’ve got three children and a wife. I guess having the privilege of coming home to a family is the biggest thing for me. Kids are in the moment and kind of spontaneous, and it’s easy to get carried away. It has been for me, looking at numbers, engaging success through plays and stuff like that. I think what they teach you is that everything that you’re looking for is already there if you engage with it.”

Kocay: What’s your favorite song you made and what was happening in the studio when you made it?

Frameworks: “I’ve got a soft spot for ‘Cold,’ [a song off the forthcoming album]. I came across a song that I fell in love with, and when I listened to it, I got upset but it was not like an ‘Oh poor me’ upset. It was quite cathartic and I kept on going back to this song to feel these emotions. ‘Cold’ represents that feeling, that cathartic…wanting to go back to embrace a feeling…get over something. It was almost like therapy going back to this song and just feeling it.”

Kocay: If you could go back in time to when you first started making music and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Frameworks: “Make music that you want to listen to—not try and follow trends. Listen to everything, but make music that you want to hear, do it and have fun with it. Be playful and try and embrace the lane that you are in and be honest about it.”

Kocay: If you didn’t go into music, where do you think you’d be today?

Frameworks: “I think I’d be doing some kind of art and something creative. I went to art college and then went into music from there. I’d probably be doing art of some description, maybe graphic design or something to that effect.”