Freda James has just released her latest EP, A Woman Alone. Gracefully covering various ranges of the pop genre, each track tells its own story of self discovery, empowerment and womanhood. James' soulful vocals feel like the perfect embodiment of confidence and fierce female energy. Standouts "Just Like Wind" and "Bound To You" give us the full spectrum of composition and craft. Check out our interview with Freda James below and stream A Woman Alone below!
1) Hi Freda! Thanks so much for chatting with us. How long have you been making music?
Hi lovely Indie Witches!
I started writing my own tunes when I moved to NYC about 10 years ago.
2) With an all-female band and using your platform to help give women a voice, what advice would you give to other women in the music industry?
We should spend our time inspiring each other and being supportive. There is a shift happening; we are outgrowing the pressures put on us as women to pin ourselves against each other. We are embracing our bodies and minds more than ever, and with that comes being advocates for each others work, art.
3) What was your inspiration behind “Just Like Wind”?
I had the chorus, melody and lyrics swirling around my head for a few weeks, I think it was the middle of winter. I was dreaming of spring and the momentum that comes when it arrives. I thought of the seasons as a constant force of change, and the wind as this gypsy energy dancing at different speeds throughout them. I wanted a song that conveyed the profound excitement of a new love, but layered with the wisdom I had recently discovered - to take things slow rather than submit to another emotional fling. I might have been excited about someone at the time, who was going through his own healing and wanted to take it slow.
4) What is your favorite form of activism and what issues are you trying to raise awareness for?
I think everyone has their own way of doing things, and I respect that. I feel good when I’m hands on with something; it makes me diminish the intensity of my own inner anxieties, and shifts my focus to being helpful and aware of others.
Sometimes it’s the simplest stuff that makes me the happiest. I recently went to a High School in Compton and chatted with a group of young ladies. They were timid…I just sat with them and let them open up in a way they felt comfortable with. I just wanted to be in their presence, a form of love through showing up and letting them have the space.
I love our young women, and I want to be a positive force for them, so they can find self-love quicker than I did. Self-love is so important in allowing ourselves to grow and bloom.
5) Who are you currently listening to?
I’m actually listening to Khruangbin as we speak :)
6) Any upcoming shows? Best place for fans to follow you?
I just played a show at Ponyboy in Brooklyn last week! I’m headed to Berlin & Italy for a few weeks to get inspired, take a vacation, mix up my environment. I plan to get back to LA in late August, and will be lining up a show there for September! It will be my first show with my band in LA after the EP release, and I can’t wait to play with my girls Priscilla and Andrea.
Fans can follow me on Instagram @fredajamesss and Spotify.