Interview: Freyja Elsy join us for a chat about FOCUS Wales, 90s' Nostalgia, studio recording and going back to her roots on her new E.P.

Saturday afternoon at FOCUS Wales is always the time you start to contemplate on the whole experience. The festival is two thirds of the way through and you've seen some great live music, but the end is near. The realisation dawns in some sort of quasi-existential crisis

 and maudlin thoughts can creep in and if - like me - you've decided to overindulge all weekend, they can take hold of the last day completely. You've all been to festivals, you know the score. 

It's best in that situation then to stuff your face with a pie and mash and hope for the best. That's the scene that unfolds as I go to meet Freyja Elsy for an interview at Ty Pawb. The problem is I've only just started eating as I spot her in the distance, so I get to work so as not the keep her waiting too long. Never has a pie and mash combo been devoured so quickly in the history of man; honestly it was not a pretty sight. The beard was a write off.

Thankfully, she's very gracious as I meet her and we wonder off to find somewhere a little quieter to start a more professional chat. This is not Freyja's first time at FOCUS Wales as she was keyboardist in the Cardiff band Blue Amber in a previous musical life - an abrasive jazz punk collective, very different to her current realm. She seems to be enjoying the Wrexham experience this time round:

"It's gone really well, it's a pleasure to be back at FOCUS Wales, I've really enjoyed it. This is my first time here as a solo artist and it's been great to be part of the Beacons showcase, because I was part of the  Forte Project which is run by them and it's been a wonderful experience."

 

Photo: Ed Townend

Her gig was the night before in the Old No 7 bar, which is one of the smaller venues at the festival, but the perfect setting to provide the intimacy for Freyja's beautifully crafted works. However, the set wasn't without it's problems to begin with:

" The set started a little late as we had one or two technical difficulties, which was a bit of a shame but these things happen. You can't let it get you down before you've even begun. It ended up being lovely, I'm just genuinely really happy to be here. "

 Once the Gremlins had turned back into Mogwais and Freyja was able to perform, she found an appreciative, sometimes transfixed audience waiting for her. She seems typically modest to hear this:

"Oh, that's really good to know! I think sometimes when you're on stage it can be really difficult to gage how it went down. You're concentrating on what you're doing; singing and playing piano, samples, you don't often get the chance to have a look at people's faces and to see how it's being received."

                                              

                                      

Freyja's music finds itself in a realm where the listener gains most when they're willing to tune into her world. This is evidenced on her evocative new single 'In My Veins' (listen above); a song about reflecting on the positives and negatives of youth and coming to terms with the impact it has as we age. It makes me think of Enya's Orinoco Flow with it's haunted, layered vocals and with that being one of the greatest things ever recorded (at least according to this guy), that's high praise. The inspirations are far and wide on her sound, but she is happy to elaborate where her biggest come from:

"I'm really inspired by 90s Trip Hop, which has kind of become a niche genre to many. A lot of people still love it though.  Massive Attack are one of my favourite bands ever and with the rise of things like 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' with the younger Gen Z, I think it has room to come back. The nostalgia feel is coming back. Some of it will register and some of it won't, but we live in a multi-genre time when people can like multiple things at once."

Her new E.P 'to stop the world turning' is scheduled for release in September and is her second after 2023's 'Modern Artifice'. The first E.P was a complex, yet intimate collection of impactful compositions that rewarded multiple listens, so what has changed this time round?

"I've produced both of them (self produced) but the first one was very at home Electronica, done mostly on my computer, but this time I had the real joy to go to a real, full-on studio. It was in the middle of the West Wales countryside in a converted chapel, it was so beautiful, it's called Studios. I bought in a couple of string players, I bought my band along - Double Bass, Electric Guitar, Drums - the whole shebang."

The contrast between the recording processes of both E.Ps add an extra depth to the new recordings, which - although new to her solo project - is a set-up that Freyja feels just as comfortable with and was excited to explore:

" Yeah, because I've come from a Classical background, it kind of feels like I'm coming back to my roots to write and explore those kind of sounds in a bigger space and to have - quote on quote - 'real traditional instruments'. One is not better than the other to me, it just provides a different sound and feel."

'In My Veins' is out now you can stream on all the usual places or buy from the Bandcamp link above. Look out for more releases prior to the release of 'to stop the world turning' in September.