Written by Chloe Gonzales | Photo by Mars Alba

“I think in some ways it is pretty cool because you’re discovering another part of yourself that you didn’t even know was there.” If you’re a freakhead or not, there’s good news: untitled freak has released her first EP. 7 circles, a 5-piece release, introduces untitled freak’s atmosphere and sound into the world. What is the world though, you may ask? The world in this sense consists of a small city apartment lit like the Victorian days and you are whisked away in some corner of the bathroom. untitled freak begs to be listened to on the walk home on the rural street or in the depths of the bedroom you forget to clean. ugly hug had the pleasure of sitting down with untitled freak to discuss the new EP and what it brings.

How has it been since you released the singles and announced the debut EP?

It’s been really, really good! It feels different to have a new project that I’m in right now, because I’ve really only been in Laveda, and when I started playing in Retail Drugs, that was a bit of a shift. But it’s been really cool to see people excited about it and it’s definitely a lot different than other projects that I’m in. I’m just super open minded about it and I’m excited to continue to see how people react to the rest of the music when it comes out!

It seems like you have a lot more control over everything too – How has all that responsibility and authority changed the way you approach your music versus being more collaborative with bandmates?

Because I’m doing everything by myself, there’s a lot I don’t have to communicate with anybody else, which is a really interesting factor. I don’t have to talk to anybody, so I can just word vomit whatever it is onto the page, and if I like it, then that’s it. I think it’s a much faster process in general, which is cool. I have also been doing everything very spontaneously.

It’s been really fun to record by myself, because I never really have done that before. So it’s a new experience for me, and when I started recording music, I was always recording with other people, producers, musicians, somebody else always had the control at least in like DAW, whatever we were working in, which was fine, because I didn’t really care. And I’ve never really been super interested in more of the technological aspects of recording, I’ve always been more like a hands-on, interested in analog type of person. But I think it’s cool to actually be the person that’s pressing record and sitting behind the computer. You’re just gonna do things differently by nature. And make different choices because of that.

I think in some ways it is pretty cool because you’re discovering another part of yourself that you didn’t even know was there. But the one downside of recording by yourself is that I think it is fun to record with other people, and social dynamics are always fun and entertaining for me. It feels more serious in my head, the environment that I create for myself is very much like focus, but then what I’m actually doing, in some ways, feels a lot less serious.

How long does it usually take you to create a song?

I feel like most of the songs on 7 circles, like the bulk of the song and recording and even some of the mixing, maybe 5-8 hours? I think there were one or two songs that I worked on for maybe 3 hours and then I opened it up the next day and it was done. But the track “untitled freak,” that was written in two hours or something and then it was just done. The songs are a lot simpler, but very spontaneous. Sometimes I’ll sit down and I’ll open up Ableton. I feel like writing a song, but instead of going to my voice memos to find an idea that I thought had some merit, I just decided to write something new and then that was what I worked on. And then, if at the end, it’s not something I really love, then that’s okay, but at least I have a finished idea.

I really like your vocals, especially on “untitled freak,” the first single you released, especially that one part towards the end. I like how you’ve been using your voice on this project.

Yeah, a lot of that is also just spontaneous. I’ll write down words on my phone or sometimes in a notebook, and usually I’ll get halfway through the recording of the song somewhere, where most of the guitar parts are figured out, and I’m starting to hear vocal lines, and then I’ll write. I’ll just start scribbling some ideas for lyrics, usually very rough, and then I’ll just, whatever that says, I’ll embellish, and then one to two takes later, that’s the vocal take I’ll use. So I don’t really rewrite anything. Sometimes it doesn’t really make sense, because I’m just kind of going off an idea for lyrics rather than finished lyrics, but I think it makes for interesting vocal performances, because you have to dance with what you already have written and improvise. 

It plays out really well! I also wanted to talk about how you’ve been able to develop the visuals of this project. Seeing the photos and music videos, it seems very intimate with the apartment and lighting. I’m curious about how you want this to feel aesthetically/visually.

You know when bedroom pop was really having its moment? I always thought the aesthetic of bedroom pop was really interesting. I’m referencing what I imagined it to be in my head, and it was making music in your bedroom, and the little Tumblr vibe, people with guitars and microphones in the bedroom making music. To me, that immediately is something that came to mind. I want it to be close to my life, to whatever it is that I feel, and so naturally, visually it made sense to do the first music video in my apartment, and we filmed it in our bathroom. I also think I wanted to take my space and myself and add a weird element to it. At least specifically for the “untitled freak” video, I wanted to really emphasize being alone in your house and feeling psychologically crazy, your mind just going in circles, but then adding the element of washing myself with coffee grounds, I was like, “Oh, that’s really freaky.” 

What shape do you think untitled freak would fit in?

It would be on brand for me to say circle, but no definitely I was gonna say triangle.

What are you gonna call your fan base? Are you gonna call them freaks?

Yeah, I thought about it. Freaks seem good, although it seems taken.

I think it’s fun to throw around, like what’s up you freaks?

I would love for someone to come up to me and introduce themselves, instead of saying, “Oh, I’m a fan of your music,” “I’m a total freak head!”

You can listen to 7 circles out now as well as get a limited-edition cassette or CD via Pleasure Tapes.