An album about heartbreak, heartache and surviving coupled with stunning sweet-country sounds is what Freya Josephine Hollick has created with her newly released album, ‘The Unceremonious Junking Of Me’.
With a joyous tone, Freya explains why she chose to record the album live to tape. “I wanted to record something that is as to close to what you hear when we play live. Recording live to tape sounds like you’re in the room and that’s what I wanted.”
‘The Unceremonious Junking Of Me’ explores soft, country tones which are juxtaposed against Freya expressing her at-times difficult life. Freya explains how becoming a mother altered her writing style. “Being a mother absolutely had an effect on my writing.
“After I had my daughter, I really did change the way I wrote. How I write now is completely different to how I wrote before having her. Having a child really changes you personally and physically. Your priorities change so much and you grow as a person. This album really reflects the ideas of being a mother, the breakdown of a relationship and how that impacts you.”
The album explores a variety of country and folky sounds. Freya puts her own style down to her exploration and exposure to other genres. “My style comes from years of listening to different music and playing different styles.
"Growing up I listened to a variety of music including jazz, blues and country. You know we don’t discriminate with music, we just listen to what sounds good. So, just through listening and playing around in genre I have been able to create my sound.”
Freya has an extremely natural way of writing music. Instead of having a calculated process, she waits for the inspiration to come to her. “I think it’s easier to write the way I do. Although sometimes I have droughts of writing because I never force it.
“I’m kind of like a slave to it, so whenever I feel like I need to write I do. Sometimes that means I write 20 songs in a month and others it means I don’t write anything for months. In the one and a half years of sitting on the record I have written a double album of songs, so I’m itching to go through those.”
An upcoming show for Freya is The Gumball; the festival celebrates art, food, good company and of course, music. “I've never been before, but I’ve watched friends that have played there and seen all their photos and it looks like a great festival! I’m really excited to play my new stuff and see a bunch of the other bands. To be honest, I’m really excited about seeing The Peep Tempel.”
Equipped with her new album and over 12 years of experience, Freya will be taking on the New Year with big touring plans. “I’m going to tour a lot, starting in March, then we will head to WA and play a bunch of festivals in Sydney. We will basically be playing up and down the east coast before heading to the [United] States, which is sure to be incredible.”
Freya Josephine Hollick plays The Gumball (Hunter Valley) 21-23 April. She also plays Nannup Music Festival (WA) 3 March.
– written by Ellen Cook
