Day -2

It was the first time the whole Frap Tools team traveled to Berlin on the same day in the same car, and arranging the luggage pushed Simone’s design skills to the limit.

Thanks to 25 sandwiches, the 12-hour trip went smoothly, with Federico chopping disco samples on his laptop and Antonio and Giovanni sleeping with drapes on their faces.

We left a rainy and gloomy Italy for a bright and warm Germany, and we understood that things were set up for the best.

Day -1

We reached the Fez to set the booth up after a four-meal breakfast. The staff was kind enough to pick up the most delicate stuff with their golf cart (see picture below).

We had a last-minute change and we took the first bungalow, since its rightful owner, Allan of AJH Synth, couldn’t attend the show. We’d like to thank him and say that we’re truly sorry! We hope that we’ll meet again soon. The setup took us four hours: one for the actual technical part, and three to chill in the porch.

After an afternoon off in the city, we met again for dinner and had a deep discussion about our company, its direction, and its future projects. It wasn’t planned, but it would prove useful in the following days.

Day 1

We reached the booth a bit late due to unexpected circumstances like a closed gate and three pints of beer, but still on time to meet the first visitors eager to try the new CUNSA filter and the Dynamics 2806.

Among them, different generations of big names of the Berlin techno scene: it was really amazing to see such passion and excitement about new instruments in professional musicians.

In the afternoon, Dirk from Native Instruments passed by and talked a bit about sustainability in music industry on behalf of Greening Music Tech. It’s a remarkable project and we immediately jumped in.

Just the time for two interviews with Sound on Sound (here and here) and in no time we found ourselves sitting at a restaurant to experience Berlin’s finest Italian cuisine. We are quite embarrassed to say that it was actually good.

Day 2

Some rumors said it was the day with the most tickets sold in the whole history of Superbooth and it’s not hard to believe. Besides the amazing crowd, we also met with Lukas from Bonedo for a no-talk demo of the CUNSA filter, followed by Synth Anatomy, Sonicstate, and Gearspace.

We had another chat about sustainability and how it is a form of privilege with Jen from Ableton/Greening Music Tech, as well as a big-time with some fellow Frap Shack members.

For the first time ever, we spent the evening at the Superbooth, and it was a unique experience. We watched Trovarsi/ALX106 set and laughed ourselves off with our friends from Alex4 at the Bungalowdorf.

Day 3

The crowd was probably still in a hangover on Saturday morning, so we took it a bit easier and had the chance to chat with our colleagues, like Nono Modular on their new sequencer and Xaoc Devices on CUNSA and quad filter circuit designs in general.

We had to shut the booth down at 7 when people were still coming in, and it was quite a sad moment, honestly. By midnight, after chilling a bit, we were ready for Superbooth 24.

Superbooth Aftermath

During the 12-hour ride back home, we were so excited that we sketched some ideas for new modules. Who knows what we’ll present next year! Anyway, no Eurorack filters for a while.

For many reasons, this Superbooth was unlike every other edition in the past years.

1. It was the first time we had three days of good weather, which allowed us to walk to the show nearly every day and leave the car untouched.
2. It was our first post-pandemic Superbooth and it seemed like there was some sort of “happiness rebound” that stunned us.
3. Our new module, the CUNSA filter, was probably the biggest leap towards the definition of a Frap Tools sound since the BRENSO, which we didn’t bring to Superbooth because of the pandemic. Sharing the CUNSA with so many people was frightening, but the response was unbelievably good.
4. The Bungalowdorf was a very different space than usual and we had to redefine our idea of the trade show. It took minimal effort, though, and the new context made us enjoy the vibe a lot more, instead of just being focused on the work.

With that in mind, we look forward to the next trade show!