“How’d you go so far to get nowhere / how’d you find yourself here when the partys over there.” When listening to Australian singer-songwriter Freeds’ new single “Seafoam Green”, I felt he perfectly captured the awkward stage of life we’re all experiencing in 2021. After waiting so long for the world to resume again, many of us have spent months in this uncertain limbo– so much time has passed, and in many ways we have come so far, but there’s this overwhelming feeling of missing out.
In his own words, while listening to his latest song, Freeds wants people to “feel like they are alone (but really not alone) at the beach listening to the waves, questioning how the hell they got there, doubting where they may end up, wondering why someone stepped on their sandcastle…and then ultimately knowing things will work out.” The competing tides of self-doubt and self-assurance present in Freeds’ lyrics manage to pull and push into the perfect bittersweet end of summer anthem.
Growing up, Freeds went through a “big Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, and Kanye West phase,” and remains heavily inspired by Kanye’s sense of nostalgia and acute storytelling. His new track’s narrative is surely influenced by these legends, but with an indie-beachy twist reminiscent of Paul Simon and Mac DeMarco. Lucky for fans of “Seafoam Green”, Freeds will be expanding his sad-boy slacker pop discography with his upcoming EP Not Finished Yet. While we wait not-so-patiently for more new music, take the time get to know Freeds in this exclusive interview with Sheesh Magazine.
What inspired your stage name Freeds?
FREEDS: It’s actually a nickname that came from my last name ‘Fridman’. It got abbreviated into ‘Freeds’ probably because nobody ever pronounced my last name correctly. I’ve been called that since I was a kid.
Where’s your hometown and where do you currently live?
FREEDS: I grew up in Sydney, Australia but I’ve been in the city of Melbourne for about 10 years. In the future, I would love to live in LA for a little while. I’ve never been but it would be surreal to get to make music in such a stimulating place around artists that inspire me…also I’m all about warm weather and a house in the hills.
How long have you been making music for?
FREEDS: Ooof. Technically started recording silly ideas using a terrible computer microphone and the 60 second sound recording feature on… maybe Windows 95? But by the end of high school I was recording songs over Jay Z beats and all the classics, and then started recording my original music in 2013.
Is there any particular person or experience that made you think “damn… I want to be a musician” — or had the desire always been there?
FREEDS: I think the desire was naturally always within. I would always be crafting up comical songs, skits, etc., since I was a kid and thought nothing of it. Then when I started listening to hip hop in high school (cliché) I fell in love and began writing my own raps. At school I thrived at any chance to be creative, especially in poetry. As I matured and started to express my own story, it felt like being an artist was who I was; It just took some time to find the confidence to make it a career path.
What instruments do you play?
FREEDS: I actually don’t play an instrument. Eek. You really hit a soft spot there. I was always just a ‘rapper’ and never properly learnt to play – now that my music style has changed, I’d love to start learning keys as a means for writing; I used to play when I was a kid and I’ve been told my finger structure could take me a long way.
What’s the songwriting process usually like for you… or is it different every time? Any quirky writing rituals?
FREEDS: It changes up a lot but usually we will start with an instrument – be it a drum loop, a bass line, guitar/keys chords or a combo. I’ve written vocals to a simple drum groove and then created instrumentation around that, and I’ve also written to just a bass line or guitar, etc. I love singing melody ideas for instruments too… It’s always nice when my producer friends bring me a beat that’s already mostly there and it just hits right. Usually we just keep sifting through ideas until something grabs me and then I’ll straight away start coming up with melodies and scratch lyrics. Or sometimes I’ll smoke a joint and have a full blown panic attack then write a song about it… you’ll hear that on the upcoming EP. Don’t really have any rituals but I dig nice scents and I also tend to smoke a lot of cigarettes (need to cut that).
Any dropping out of school or quitting a job to pursue a career in music stories?
FREEDS: Well I started studying Business at university many moons ago and then dropped out after a year because it wasn’t for me. I’ve worked a million different jobs over the years, I’ve been working at my dad’s bottle shop for a while now and I’m hoping I get to eventually quit and prove him wrong… he doesn’t exactly believe in the whole music thing.
Most funny or memorable gig story?
FREEDS: One time I was playing a show and doing a cover of MIA’s Paper Planes. I had this idea to make a bunch of paper planes and throw them into the crowd. Well mid-song, I launched my plane into the crowd, and it propelled very quickly into a girl’s face. I’m lucky I didn’t take her eye out. I was awkward and VERY apologetic. Lesson learnt.
With your second EP coming out soon, how do you feel? What are you most excited about or scared for?
FREEDS: It makes me feel like it’s taken me a damn long time to get to where I am. I’m very excited to give people the best version of me and a collection of songs that are diverse but also from the same planet. I’m excited for people to get a glimpse into who I am. But I am scared about having to work this liquor store job for a little while longer.
Message to your fans, haters, or anyone in between?
FREEDS: To anyone supporting my music, I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH and hope you can take something positive from it. No time for haters.
By now, you should be as obsessed with Freeds’ new single and his self-described “suave jewish grandpa” style as we are. Make sure to stream Seafoam Green on Spotify and Apple Music, and keep up with Freeds by following him on Instagram.
