POSTS TAGGED : Freedom Fry

Freedom Fry – ‘The Words’

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Over the course of the past few years, LA-based duo of Freedom Fry have served us with a string of sublime singles; their ability to craft cheery, infectious and feel-good indie-pop is without question.

As accustomed as we’ve become to Freedom Fry’s stellar proclivity for an irresistible single, the pair’s first release of 2016 is all kinds of wonderful. Besides being typically catchy Freedom Fry fare, ‘The Words’ is their most imaginative blend of styles and genres yet. A sort of hybrid, disco-folk, this infectious number slaloms between mildly psychedelic folk pop hauntings and a beautifully bouncy groove laid down over consistent disco beats, electronic pulses and jangly hooks & sing-along choruses. Comprised of husband and wife duo Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll, Freedom Fry seem intent on serving us with the world’s catchiest tunes and there are no complaint from this quarter. Most definitely looking forward to hearing more from Freedom Fry in 2016.

Check out ‘The Words’ below.

BarryGruff Playlist September 2015

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A now regular monthly feature, whereby we round up all the blog action with a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

September was pretty damn good, aside from saying goodbye to summer! We had tunes from Sexwitch, Gwenno, Hinds and The Altered Hours ahead of their respective, new and forthcoming albums. There were excellent new singles from Slow Riot, Tuff Love, BUCK, H. Hawkline, Freedom Fry, Gulp & Miaoux Miaoux. Oh, and their was the launch of ‘Millions Like Us’, Justin Beats & I’s new music podcast extravaganza for 604now (if you missed them? Why not listen to episodes #1 & #2)

Also featured on this month’s playlist are great tracks from Avid Walker, Mesa Luna, Ghost Culture, Boxed In, Anderson & Peaness. So yeah, pretty good alright.

Listen to BarryGruff’s September 2015 playlist below.

Freedom Fry – ‘Tropicana’

 

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Freedom Fry have a remarkable and innate ability for crafting smile inducing tunes – when it comes to cheery, infectious, feelgood indie-pop – no one quite does it like Freedom Fry.

The creative chemistry between duo Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll is such that, from the outside at least, ideas and songs seem to flow with an effortless ease. Freedom Fry really are in a class of their own, something gallantly paraded with their latest single. ‘Tropicana’ offers a feast of upbeat, bright and chipper vibes, with a nostalgia-laced groove, infused with bursts of mild psychedelia and interspersed with beautifully irresistible female/male vocals combos. It is an unbelievably smiley, happy jam with an alluring aura of eternal summer. According to the band, “Tropicana is about taking a trip away from your problems to your happy place. Wherever that may be …” – successfully done in anyone’s book.

Freedom Fry are out on tour at the minute, with quite a few dates across North America – check ’em here. For now, you can stream the wonderful ‘Tropicana’ below, and repress the fact that summer is all but over.

 

BarryGruff’s June 2015 Playlist

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A regular monthly feature to the blog; a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

June was another pretty fine month for new music. We had new tunes from Girls Names, Sextile, Hibou, Velvet Morning & Hooton Tennis Club ahead of their respective, forthcoming new albums. There were excellent new singles from Hyde & Beast, Freedom Fry, Dan Amor, Slow Riot, Tomorrows, Alaska Wilson & PANKHABILLI.

Also featured on this month’s playlist are great tracks from Seazoo, The Statics, CZARFACE, Peaness, Energy Slime & Pale Honey. Yeah, so, June was good. And that’s all before mentioning the interview with Ric Rawlins about his new book, ‘Rise of the Super Furry Animals’ – read it here.

Listen to BarryGruff’s June 2015 playlist below.

 

Freedom Fry – ’21’

Freedom Fry 21 - 2015

No one quite does cheery, infectious, feelgood indie-pop like Freedom Fry, the Franco-American duo of Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll, really are in a class of their own.

This combination of talents has served them (and us, the listener) rather well to date, producing stellar single after single. With each new release, they’ve upped the stakes and their latest single ’21’, is no different. Recorded with the help of audience’s during their recent residency at the Echo in LA, who provide the vocals and claps, it is a bright, buoyant and wholly irresistible indie-pop tune. Fuelled by the vocal exchange between the two, it is an upbeat affair bursting with exuberance, hopeful optimism and all manner of summery feelings. Yet another catchy, charming and smile-inducing tune, and unmistakably ‘Freedom Fry’. The pair seem intent on serving us with the world’s catchiest tune, and as they continue on their merry quest to do so, it’s going to be a fun-filled ride.

For now, you can stream the wonderful ’21’ below; time to put the sun back in our hearts. And in case you’re interested, I’d a quick chat with Freedom Fry before their Vancouver show back in April (you read it here)

BarryGruff’s April 2015 Playlist

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A regular monthly feature to the blog; a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

It was another excellent month for new music, one which saw the return of CZARFACE, Miaoux Miaoux, Girlpool and Jinx Lennon, with new tracks from their respective forthcoming albums. There were new singles from The Urges, Wilding, Fold, Tuff Love, Hippies Vs Ghosts, Lazy Day, Freedom Fry & Imploded View, and tracks from forthcoming EPs from Tomorrows, Graham Cooney & JUNK.

Also featuring on the playlist are: The School, Fueds, Mowbird & Cotton Wolf. Yeah, so, April was pretty damn good.

Listen to BarryGruff’s April 2015 playlist below.

Incoming: A Quick Chat With Freedom Fry

Freedom Fry Tour 2015

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

BarryGruff’s Playlist February 2015

BarryGruff Feb Playlist 2015

A new monthly feature to the blog, a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

It was a pretty good month to be fair. There was the return of Joanna Gruesome, Novella, Coves and Akala, with new tracks ahead of their respective albums, and new singles from Du Blonde, Foreign/National, Freedom Fry & Rozi Plain. Not to forget the huge news of a new album from Blur and last but not least, the return of Super Furry Animals. Also featuring on the playlist are: Public Service Broadcasting, TRWBADOR, The Courtneys, SALES, The Earth & Benihana.

Listen to BarryGruff’s February 2015 playlist below. The full track listing is after the jump.

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Freedom Fry – ‘Shaky Ground (Hey Na Na Na)’

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Los Angeles based indie pop duo Freedom Fry have pricked our ears more than once over the past few years with charming single after single.

The Franco-American duo, Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll, have returned with the release of their first new music of 2015; the sugary-sweet and super catchy ‘Shaky Ground (Hey Na Na Na)’. This wonderfully crafted single retains similarly brilliant characteristics to those which have marked their earlier work. A gentle and breezy number, harnessing all the potency from a catchy melody, sunny strings, toe tapping percussion and the gorgeous boy/girl vocal combo, making it is pretty darn hard to resist the allure of ‘Shaky Ground (Hey Na Na Na)’. A wonderful and utterly likeable piece of guitar-pop which sits pretty well alongside their previous singles like ‘Summer In The City’, ‘Hanging With The New Crowd’, ‘Home’ and ‘Blackmailed’.

They along with the new single, ‘Shaky Ground (Hey Na Na Na)’, are taken from their forthcoming limited edition vinyl, Fan Club (The Singles 2011-2014), which is available to pre-order here. You can stream the new single below.

Freedom Fry – ‘Blackmailed’

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Los Angeles based indie pop duo Freedom Fry have been charming our ears for quite a while now, with the likes of ‘Summer In The City’, ‘Hanging With The New Crowd’ and ‘Home’.

The Franco-American duo, Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll, have returned with another stellar single of similarly brilliant characteristics. ‘Blackmailed’ is a gentle and woozy number, with pair injecting an element of funk into their pop delicacy for what is ultimately a stylish piece of psych-tinged, sultry and soulful synth-pop. The gorgeous boy/girl vocals too, combine to beguiling effect, atop of a breezy vibe with some sun-kissed and melancholic tones. It is another tantalizing brilliant and utterly loveable track from Freedom Fry.

New single ‘Blackmailed’ is taken from their upcoming limited edition vinyl, Fan Club (The Singles 2011-2014), available to pre-order here. Failing that, you can stream ‘Blackmailed’ below.