Armed with spirited alt-rock and gripping guitar riffs the sound created by London-based outfit Friedberg feels familiar, yet like nothing you’ve heard before.
Originally from Austria in 2019, Anna Friedberg (writer, vocals, guitar, cowbells and percussion) is joined by Emily Linden (guitar, vocals), Cheryl Pinero (bass, vocals) and Laura Williams (drums). Now residing in the UK’sd capital, the band are looking to make their mark on the booming music industry.
Blending post-punk and alt-rock Friedberg have just dropped new single ‘Hello’, the first instalment of their debut album, due for release in August 2024. The accompanying music video – directed by Talia Beale – finds the band in a warped ‘Friedberg room’ where Anna has melted into one of her walls, ultimately becoming a part of the furniture.
‘Hello’ is written from the point of view of spending the night living in someone’s head, so the visual is a reflection of the motion of all our passing thoughts: they are overwhelming, nonsensical, detaching, comforting, erratic, tempting yet disorientating; all the while making so much sense.
Anna, lead singer of Friedberg, says: “I already fell in love with Talia’s initial idea of me reciting the lyrics of the song whilst my head is stuck in a wall. Over a good cup of cappuccino, we instantly bonded over the idea of a leaf blower blowing the band’s hair while we are performing the song.
“I loved everything else we came up with that day – like taping the band to the wall. When I wrote the song I imagined spending the night in a stranger’s mind and thinking all of these things that I never thought… Saying all of these things that I never said. And get a holiday from my own mind. So the concept of the video just worked perfectly for the song.”
Talia Beale, Director, said: “This project’s been a dream to work on! Anna’s an artist who takes the risk of thinking outside of the box and pushing creative boundaries. It’s provided a playground to explore our most surreal ideas, the ones maybe we often try to dull down by attaching too much rational thought to in the name of commercialism.”
Friedberg are gearing up for a busy year ahead, including shows at SXSW in Austin and a performance at this year’s Great Escape Festival. The band are supporting rising Black Country duo Big Special in May, Placebo UK supports in June and just announced supporting German indie rock band Giant Rooks (who’ve just had a number 1 album in Germany) on their forthcoming US tour in April.
