On the Road with Alt-Rock Royalty: Talking Placebo, Krautrock and Cowbell with Friedberg
The band’s new track ‘The Greatest’ is out now.
Photo: Lewis Vorn
It’s a balmy June evening in England when I’m talking to Anna Friedberg. She, meanwhile, is walking the streets of Austria’s capital, exploring Vienna’s side streets and quietly celebrating the release of her band’s new single, The Greatest.
The Greatest marks the latest offering from her eponymous, alt-pop female four-piece, Friedberg. Morphing addictive dance-pop elements with something of the alt-rock, it’s a hypnotic track, and made for the stage. Luckily, this girl group are heading out on the road with alternative legends Placebo for a string of summer gigs. I got the chance to catch up with Anna (vocalist and songwriter for the group) about everything; from the new single to dream venues, manic soundchecks, an upcoming album and what’s next.
Your new single ‘The Greatest’ is out now. Congratulations! How does it feel?
Yeah, I’m really quite happy that the song is out, [and] that we can play it live… I’m really happy with the video, too!
Music videos have a reputation for being long and tedious to do. Was making the video for ‘The Greatest’ stressful at all?
The day was quite stressful because we had to do so many outfits and shots. But I really, really enjoyed it and wanted to work with that director – Wouter Stoter – for like a long time. And we’ve been speaking for half a year to do a video together. Finally, when he told me about this idea, I thought, ‘oh my god, that’s perfect for this song’ — because it’s about wanting everything at the same time and having too many options, and then you end up having everything but nothing at once. Yeah, I think it really worked.
But you never know with videos until you see it, if it’s actually working out. Wouter is an amazing director. I love to work creatively on videos and the visual side, as well. I really enjoyed it.
If you had to sum up the sound of the new single in one sentence, what would it be?
Good question. It’s definitely pop; alternative pop, with dance-y elements.
Do you still get the same level of anticipation releasing a single now that you did with your earlier stuff?
I’m always super excited. That never goes away. I wouldn’t release a song I’m not excited about.
How does the upcoming album sound compared to Friedberg’s previous work?
I think there’s quite a nice melancholic, kind of Krautrock-y, dreamy vibe that we might not have heard before. I think there are going to be some new facets you haven’t heard yet, combined with obviously the Friedberg sound.
What’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to song-writing?
Any beats. I love to write with a great beat. Great rhythm, great cowbell, great beats. I don’t even need anything else, sometimes. I think with ‘The Greatest’, I just wrote to the beat. Lyrically, I always write poems, and then I bring them together – I write the melodies first and then the poems, and think ‘this poem will go with this’.
Interesting! It’s cool that you write poetry and then mould that around the tune.
I used to write some songs where I brought a poem to the studio and tried to write a melody with it, but I have more freedom writing melodies without the lyrics. It’s more fun for me.
You’re on tour with Placebo! How excited are you guys?
It’s crazy. We’ve played a few shows with them before, and I think they liked our songs, so they just invited us to play a few more shows. They’re quite big shows, too. I love support shows; it’s amazing, because you can only win. You have these 30 minutes and can play all the bangers and win over the crowd.
It must be insane supporting such legends of the alt-rock scene. How long have you guys admired them?
Our bass player, Cheryl [Pinero], she’s a big Placebo fan – so for her, I think [it’s] a dream came true. But I also never thought we’d open for them. We’ve done a few support shows with Hot Chip – and we just did a US tour. For me, it was crazy that we went along with them. For Cheryl, she’s probably the same with Placebo. They’re such a big band, and it’s an honour they invited us again.
Is there a show you’ve played that stands out above the rest?
Brixton Academy with Hot Chip. It’s such a legendary venue, and they asked us to open there! But that was more the venue than the actual experience. The show I enjoyed the most was maybe Austin, also with Hot Chip. It was a super hot day, we almost fainted after being in the van for eight hours. When we arrived there and did the soundcheck, Hot Chip were like, ‘Hey, do you wanna come on stage at the end of the show and play the Beastie Boys’ Sabotage with us?’. It was amazing.
Washington DC in April with Giant Rooks was also absolutely crazy. People knew the words to our songs, and got our cowbells tattooed! It was wild – the whole tour was. New York, Chicago was amazing, Canada – all the Canada shows. They were about the experience.
Is there a dream venue you want to play?
I would love to play Primavera [Sound] festival in Barcelona, because I really love it. But venue-wise… if we sold out a 2000, 3000 capacity venue, that would be a good size. Because with stadium shows, sometimes it can be hard to get a vibe going.
I know what you mean about stadium gigs, it can be hard to keep that connection between audience and artist.
Especially if it’s a football stadium! Zero vibe. I really wanna play a gig – I mean it’s super small, but maybe for our first headline show – I’d love to play The Social, in Soho.
It’s somewhat of a rarity in the music scene that you’re an all-female band. Have you faced any particular challenges because of that?
I think now, it’s not so much a problem. Sometimes people are actually looking for female bands. So, I think there has been quite a lot of work, and it is changing. We’re lucky enough to come onto the scene now, where things have already started to change. It’s a good time for us.
Who are some of the best artists out there right now?
I love Royel Otis a lot. Just seen them at Primavera and I just think they have amazing songs, and the energy live was amazing. I saw Fat Dog as well, they were also fun. I love that the saxophone is coming back! There are a few alternative rock bands that have saxophones now; it gives such a good energy and crazy sound. I like Fat White Family, and the singer has a new solo project – that was really good live, actually. I really like Big Special, who we supported. They have created their own little niche. LCD Soundsystem – all-time favourites. Most favourite band in the world. Best live band in the world. PJ Harvey, also an all-time favourite. Do you know Yo La Tengo? They have a kind of Krautrock, psychedelic, rocky kind of vibe. They have a female drummer who also sings. Blows my mind.
Now ‘The Greatest’ is out, what’s next?
Honestly, I really want to get back into the studio and write new songs. But I also want to play lots of festivals, lots of shows, lots of live stuff. A few more videos, the album, and I’m already writing something new.
Is the new album finished?
Yeah. But I keep on writing [laughs].
Cliché question time! What advice would you give to an aspiring musician?
Be persistent. There are lots of people with talent out there – like, tonnes – but the people who make it are the ones who don’t give up, no matter if no label wants to work with them. Just keep going, and do your own thing. And also trust your gut feeling. There are always so many opinions on music but trust your gut. Try not to listen too much to what everyone else says.
Friedberg is Anna Friedberg (writer, vocals, guitar), Emily Linden (guitar, vocals), Cheryl Pinero (bass, vocals) and Laura Williams (drums). Their latest single The Greatest is out now on all platforms.