With a delicate and beautiful sound, Freja is a young singer/songwriter who celebrates her youth through forthcoming debut EP 'Ghosts', mixing folklore and gothic romance with themes including love, loss and life.
We got the chance to put some questions to Freja about her passion for music, her new music and much more - check out what she had to say below.
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
I've never really been able to put myself in a genre (I know that sounds incredibly pretentious), but my songs are piano-based and emotional, that pretty much covers it I think.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
Deadlines! I've always been terrible at getting anything done on time because I never feel prepared enough, but obviously that's something that you have to do as a musician. It's been sort of helpful though because I literally just had to get on with everything and get it all done; if I hadn't put a deadline on when to finish my EP I probably never would have finished it (although I was still making changes up to the very last minute).
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
It's definitely not easy. There's so much music out there and so many people trying to make it in the business so it's difficult to get noticed. While it would be amazing to become well-known in the industry, I never really set out to be famous, I just want people to be able to enjoy my music.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
So important! My songs are very personal to me and I'm such a perfectionist. When I was recording, I'd keep telling my sound engineer; 'I want to do that again differently', and he'd be like; 'you don't need to, it sounded fine', and I'd say; 'yeah, but it's not how it's supposed to sound.'
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
Everywhere really, my songs are influenced by pretty much everything around me in some way. There are the obvious ones like the music I listen to and my experiences and emotions, but it's also just things people say that I find interesting, or if I come across a word that I decide would be good in a song. I wrote down the word 'vampires' last week so I expect that'll turn up in my next song.
Also, if someone I know (or even a fictional character) is going through something painful, I'll sometimes write a song from their perspective, that's something I really enjoy doing because I can write things I wouldn't write otherwise.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
There are so many people I'd love to collaborate with. I think Frank Iero would be great to write with because I really love his lyrics.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
When I was at high school I was part of a folk metal band called Gravitational Beverage. I don't really know how I ended up joining seeing as I'd never even heard of folk metal before that point, but it was pretty fun, even though we never got very far.
Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?
In the short term I'm planning to start work on an album next year and I'd love to have the opportunity to play some festivals over summer.
Where do you hope to be by this time next year?
Hopefully I'll be releasing my debut album.
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
My EP 'Ghosts' is being released online on November 27 and you can check out my Facebook page for information about upcoming gigs - facebook.com/frejafrances.
Freja's EP drops later this year, for updates follow her on Twitter @FrejaFrances.