Cellular - Frau Knotz

From Ngāmotu


10 Nov 23


Single


In stark contrast to her previous two singles,  ‘Cellular’
is a drumless track that sees Frau  Knotz at the piano,
shapeshifting between  electronic experimentation and
acoustic  texture. With ex London-based producer Sam 
Johnson at Rhythm Ace Studio and mastering  engineer Chris
Chetland at Kog Studios, she has  created a haunting
production that solely uses  piano and analog bass as a
foundation to  highlight her vocal performance with
new  purity and detail. Drawing inspiration from the 
basslines of Mick Karn from British 80s new  wave band
‘Japan’ and the eerie dystopia of the  Blade Runner
soundtrack, ‘Cellular’ renders an  evocative
soundscape. 


Frau Knotz’s prickly introspections divulge  some of her
most vulnerable lyrics to date.  The second verse draws you
in, almost  literally with nothing but a whisper;
“there’s  a world out there, it lies beneath my
thumbs’’  followed by a sudden pang of the piano with
a  grandiose declaration; “we are all icons on a 
plastic screen”. Lauren explains “After  watching the
Netflix documentary ‘The Social  Dilemma’, I advised my
friends on social  media that I was going to delete my
accounts  in 1 week and gave them my cell phone number 
and email address. Then I completely deleted my  Facebook
and Instagram for the next 18 months.  This song was written
during that 18 month  hiatus over one Easter weekend; 4
uninterrupted  days spent at the piano.” 


Previous singles ‘Supernova’ (2022) and  ‘Runway of Reality’
(2023) have charted on the  Radio Control 99.4FM Top 10,
featured on Most  FM’s Making Tracks & been playlisted
on several  community radio stations, with videos
premiered  on Juice TV & MTV Upload and her second
video  hitting 1.2k views on YouTube. Her debut 
headline show during New Zealand Music Month this year drew a
crowd of 100 people to The  King’s Theatre in Stratford, a
tiny town 40  minutes from New Plymouth city. She has
just  returned from the Wellington Jazz Festival as a 
featured guest with the Other Futures Big Band.