Interview – Freeform Five

At a time where it is continuously becoming difficult for electronic music outfits to stand out in a crowd Freeform Five are lambasting the very notion of mediocrity, and have come charging through with a unique electro-rooted sound that almost defies description.

With a current inception whose composition could be described as an amazing case-study in chaos theory – the result of many chance meetings and “right place, right time encounters,” this four piece UK outfit comprising producer Anu Pillai and vocalists Tamara Barnett-Herrin, Cabba, and Nick Decosemo has evolved into itself, rather than been constructed.

“I came up with the name before I had the band,” says Anu, describing the genesis of the Freeform Five moniker. “I knew I wanted it to be a band. The first things we did under that name were basically me doing stuff on my own. I knew that at some point I’d like to have a band play live and be more than just me – I put a five on the end as it was the most obvious way to make it sound like a band with more people in it!”

With their single “No more conversations” hitting number one on the UK Radio 1 dance charts last week, and their album “Strangest Things” being released locally by Fuzzy Records, Freeform Five are taking their chunky, vocal laden, electroesque beats to new vistas, and are even somewhat surprised by their success.

“It was a bit like, hey?? If you look at the chart we’re a top record – we’re in the top 20 of the pop charts – its nice, but its a bit bizarre because I don’t really know what that means – i cant go hey, we’ve sold 50,000 singles because the pop charts are a combination of sales and cooler underground shop sales that aren’t added to the chart, but its all good!”

As a group, there is almost no denying that the very essence of art pervades their work. From their musical compositions, to an astounding repertoire of remix works with luminaries across the music world, to the exquisite-corpse based design of their website (www.freeformfive.com) and album artwork, there is no surprise that the ethos “love what you create” sits firmly behind their versatility as artists.

“With three vocalists, the options are always there for – when you are writing something you might think “this would be really good for Nick to sing … then you might think, we’ll maybe not – lets try it was Tamara and change it to a female voice … I think the reason everything has worked out so well is because, and I know its a cliché, but our motives are true and honest – there’s nothing worse than something that’s pre-planned and contrived in order to try to make a hit, whereas we just make the music we love.”

Coupling their versatile lineup With input on the new album from some of the worlds greatest producers, including Timbalands engineer Jimmy Douglass and Depeche Modes’ Vince Clarke, as well as having influences as wide ranging as the Stone Roses, P-Funk and rock legends The Pixes, Freeform Five bring to the table a feast of imaginative succulence. Working with digital soft-synths, analogue hardware and live instrumentation, the canvas upon which they write seems infinitely primed.

“We’re lucky because the sort of music we do, although a lot of its electronic, there’s always vocals and interesting guitars or bass and things … for example, the song I did with Vince Clark in the studio (“What Do I Want From You” on Strangest Things), it was an insane experience. He’d be on his massive Roland synth and he’d be making sounds and going, “Is that alright?” He was literally patching together sounds for me, and I’d be like “Fucking hell, Vince Clark is making me sounds!”

Enthusiasm, experimentation and passion are the cornerstone of the Freeform Five lexicon, and Anu’s upcoming Australian tour will showcase the best of their creative repertoire, as well as sneak peeks into the future of the Freeform Five epic.

“You know, I’ve got some good stuff to play on this upcoming tour,” Anu remarks, blatant enthusiasm bleeding from his voice. “Some of its pretty full on – I’ll even test out a few new things while I’m down there, so you’ll definitely get the exclusive!”