- the first song I heard from you guys was The Seasons. What was the inspiration behind the song aside from the obvious changing of seasons?
Marie: We’re constantly writing songs all the time but usually once or twice a year we have a moment where inspiration really strikes and we do a lot at once. Sometimes we write around ten or fifteen songs in a few weeks. Last year, when I was pregnant with our son, River, we locked ourselves in the studio and the first song that came to us was The Seasons. It just all came together really quickly once we wrote the bassline.
Besides just singing about the seasons, we were thinking about how much the changing weather reflects and effects people’s moods. When you go to Paris in Winter, for example, everyone is looking so dour and it feels depressing. By contrast, in the Summer everyone seems to be smiling and in love with life. We wanted to capture that feeling of darkness in the verses and light in the choruses.
- I saw today that a cover you did was put as the credits song for the new The Morning Show. That must be really surreal, how does it feel?
Bruce: We’re really excited about it! Sometimes our songs get used in movies or shows we haven’t been following, but we’ve actually been really addicted to this one all season so to see it used during the end credits of the season one finale felt like an out of body experience. You see these actors that you’ve been watching all your life - Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Reese Witherspoon - and then BAM you hear this song that we recorded in a very personal, nonchalant way coupled with them in this show. It’s thrilling and yes, surreal.
- Now that your music is hitting the screens, what’s a big goal for you and your music?
Marie: We will have a song placed in commercials and shows once in a while and it’s part of what makes our job so exciting. We never know how it will be used so it’s always a big surprise when the feature comes out. Our main goals since we started have always been to write the best songs we can and to positively impact lives with what we create. We’re always trying to outdo ourselves and our previous work. A cherry on top of it all would be to have a song that really reaches the masses but you can’t really plan for that, so you just have to try your hardest and hope for a bit of luck.
- Individually, what has been your favourite experience that your music has bought you? (whether that be somewhere you performed, someone who’s watched you perform or noticed your work, etc)
Marie: We did a tour opening up for Stromae in 2015. He’s massive in Europe and a one of a kind performer. Having him take notice of us and invite us along on that tour was one of my favorite experiences. It was our first tour and we were playing to sold out rooms of 2000 or more people. It was incredible.
Bruce: Whenever we do covers that get used, or almost used in something like a tv show or an ad, the original artist has to approve of their usage so it’s thrilling to know that some of our musical heroes have listened to our versions. For instance, Gorillaz had to approve of “Clint Eastwood” being on the Morning Show so we know they heard it. That’s a cool feeling. The same thing happened with our Smashing Pumpkins cover of “1979” and “Girl on Fire,” our cover of “Man on Fire” by Edward Sharpe.
- I am personally loving the organised themed insta of threes. Is aesthetic very important for your image? Not just with social media but with covers too? Are they things you heavily think through and have detailed plans for?
Marie: Thank you. It makes it a bit harder to just post something quickly, because we plan everything out, but we like the look better in the end. We think through pretty much everything. The main goals for us are that the visuals look like how the songs sound.
- How did you come to the realisation that music was the path for you? Was it something you knew and wanted from childhood?
Bruce: I’ve always loved music from a very young age but I never really plan ahead in my life more than the year I’m in. As a teenager I never set my guitar down, I even slept with it. I taught myself recording & production and everything in my life just kept pointing me towards doing it professionally. Eventually I started to actually make a living off it. It was so natural that I just went with it.
Marie: I’ve always been singing. As a child I learned piano and harp. I wanted to do music since childhood but initially I was a stylist. I didn’t think it was realistic to make a living from music, because that’s what people tell you. Right before I met Bruce I began writing songs on my own, so it was kind of fate that we met. Everything flowed so naturally. We just kept moving ahead, doing our thing, and it’s been such an amazing journey. I can’t imagine either of us doing anything else.
- What’s the next thing in line for release? Will the release be soon?
Bruce: We have some big things planned for 2020 that we’ve very excited about. We’ll be announcing them soon on our instagram @freedomfrymusic. Just know there will be lots more music from us in the new year.
- A lot of your songs are very different, which I really like. Do other musicians inspire you and if yes, who?
Marie: Thank you! It just happens because we like so many different styles and it also keeps it interesting for us. We’re inspired by so a lot of other musicians. One who tends to move between styles in a similar way is Beck. We’ve always admired that about him. People always to put a label on what you do, who you are, and they tend to say that you should stick to a genre not to confuse the audience. But we never did that and we end up following the inspiration wherever it takes us. At the end, our production and our voices make the song a Freedom Fry song no matter the beat or instruments used.
- When it comes down to lyrics, what is the process of writing them? Is it really easy for words to come to you?
Bruce: We try to write lyrics fast so we don’t get hung up on them. We’ll often go back and revise. Multiple times if we have to. On a new song we’ve been working on we re-wrote the verses, melody & lyrics, five times. Our favorite lyrics paint a picture that we can see vividly but are still open ended enough that other people can find their own meaning in them. Each song usually starts with a chorus melody and a title and we build out from there with the concept. It really helps to know what the main focus of the song is when we’re writing, otherwise we get stuck. This past year we’ve written a song about our dog (“Me and Bonnie”), our baby (“New Life”), Texas (“Rio Grande”), and David Bowie (“David Bowie”). Having the topic like that gives us guidelines for the where the lyrics should go and helps us find our way.
- Aside from a release, is there anything coming up you guys are excited for? A show or appearance, etc?
Marie: We’ve been working on a few exciting things we’re not at liberty to discuss yet but we really can’t wait for 2020. We only played one show this year because of the birth of our son, River, but we’re going to be doing a lot more playing next year.
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