LA based indie pop duo Freedom Fry have been charming us with breezy, cheery indie-pop treats for sometime now – it has really been a case of charming single after single – this blogging malarkey is a real chore sometimes.
Fresh from playing SXSW the Franco-American duo, Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll, embark on a short West Coast tour throughout early April with Stromae (including Vancouver on April 5th), and a date with Lilly Wood and the Prick. To accompany this news the pair have released a brand new single, ‘Break Into A Musical’. Instilled with a typically woozy, breezy and warm vibe that has marked Freedom Fry’s previous output, although imbued with a certain sense of nostalgic wistfulness. ‘Break Into A Musical’ is an undeniably endearing, lovable and pretty irresistible folk pop delight.
With Freedom Fry’s aforementioned visit to Vancouver happening this coming Sunday (April 5th in The Orpheum w/ Stromae), it’s high time we had a chat with the duo. ‘Break Into A Musical’ is wonderful and alluring as always – check it & the Q&A below.
Tell us a little about the band. How did you both meet? And how did Freedom Fry come about?
Bruce: I have this inexplicable urge to make music with everyone I meet. I think it’s how I connect with people. So one day we were getting ready to film a video for another band I have with my sister, Blondfire, and the stylist was this French girl, Marie. We hit it off and somewhere on the set she played me a song on her phone. It was her singing in French. Doubled vocal and a ukulele. It was really charming. I thought it would be cool to write songs with her and have her sing them in French.
Marie: It was exactly four years ago. In April of 2011. And it was a Sylvie Vartan cover that I played for him. We just started dating and making music together for fun. It all seemed really natural. We were going to put out the first few songs we wrote as an EP and we needed a name.
Bruce: We wanted something memorable that summed up the French girl and American guy collaboration. Freedom Fry just seemed appropriate.
How best would you describe your sound/band?
Bruce: We’re constantly trying to change it up but in general I would use words like west coast, upbeat, percussive, organic, surfy, sing-a-long, reverb soaked, californian, and bittersweet.
Marie: We try to always write things people can move to. Even at slower tempos. I also love the 70s vibes.
You just recently played SXSW, what we’re your highlights?
Bruce: Getting to see all our friends play and spending the week indulging in all things music was what it’s all about. I think I saw more shows there in that week than I typically see in a year, which was cool. We were thankful for everyone who made it out to our shows and sang a long. When you’re up against 2,000 other bands and people decide to put you on their schedule that means a lot.
Marie: We got to see Stromae’s set at Stubbs which was a big highlight. We connected with those guys and now we’re fortunate enough to be heading out on tour with him.
What’s it really like touring?
Bruce: Honestly, most of it is waiting around for that 30-45 minutes per night where you really get to do your thing. A lot of green room and van time. Hummus, pitas and Pabst are the three main food groups. All that waiting around is why you’ve really got to love who you’re traveling with. I’m happy to be married to my bandmate.
Marie: It’s really like camping with friends except instead of singing around a fire at the end of the day you sing on a stage in front of an audience. But other than that we sometimes all sleep in the same room so we can laugh and say dumb things before we fall asleep.
What should we expect from your upcoming show(s)?
Bruce: We’re doing something much more stripped down and raw, but still high on the energy for these opening sets with Stromae. There’s no drummer this time around. Instead we’re incorporating more live tracks with Jonny Perdue who plays bass and I’m also playing a kick drum that I’ve been having fun stomping on during the choruses. The whole set is also mostly our more recent songs. Nothing from the first EP.
Who is your favourite current artist(s)?
Bruce: I’ve been liking Father John Misty and Beach House a lot. I always get excited to hear what they’ve created.
Marie: Tame Impala, Alt J and Of Montreal.
Aside from the tour, what does the not so distant future hold for Freedom Fry?
Bruce: We have more shows in LA and San Francisco after the tour that we’re really looking forward to. We’re also constantly writing and have a few fun collaborations that we’re waiting for the right time to release. Maybe down the road we’ll have another EP, or maybe even an album. We’ve got enough songs for one but I’d like to try to make it really something special if we go there.
Marie: There’s also a new music video that we shot ourselves and are really excited about.
Tour Dates:
April 5th – Vancouver, BC @ The Orpheum w/ Stromae
April 6th – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo w/ Stromae
April 7th – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex w/ Lilly Wood and the Prick
April 9th – Oakland, CA @ The Fox Theater w/ Stromae
April 10th – Oakland, CA @ The Fox Theater w/ Stromae
April 16th – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan w/ Stromae