“Hardcore Workout Queen”: An album that embodies what ANNA FRIEDBERG is all about: humour, energy and a loving look at the madness of our self-optimization culture. The debut album by London indie band FRIEDBERG will be released in November (11/8/24). In this mica interview, front-woman ANNA talks about her adopted home of London, American hardcore fans and why she sometimes longs for Myspace again. In an interview with Ania Gleich, the Austrian musician talks about how spontaneous decisions and trust in uncertainty have shaped her career and what it means to “just keep doing it”.
You’ve settled down in London, haven’t you?
Anna Friedberg: I was in Berlin for a while before that. But I think London is much better. The city has so much to offer culturally that I wouldn’t even know where else to go after London. Above all, I think the English are cool – they have a good sense of humor!
What does it say about you that you like living in London?
Anna Friedberg: That I allow myself to be strongly influenced by external circumstances. I also find the energy in London infectious. People work extremely hard to secure their existence. That inspires me! In Berlin, I found hanging around less inspiring. You chill out there for a few years, get a guilty conscience and then move to London.
So speed is your thing?
Anna Friedberg: Yes, absolutely. I’m impatient. The faster the better. But I live in a part of London that is more relaxed. So I can get into the stress, but I can also take myself out at any time.
Is that why you’re a “hardcore workout queen”?
Anna Friedberg: Sometimes yes, sometimes not. I wasn’t when I wrote the song. I was more in wake-and-bake mode. The song is a humorous look at the self-optimization craze. Figuratively speaking, I’ve just eaten my second breakfast, while the others have already had their third workout and five meetings. Nevertheless, I have a fond feeling about the workout queens. You cheer them on while you’re still lying in bed munching on chocolate wafers and apple chips.
“You do you, I do me!”
I hear you play a lot of soccer?
Anna Friedberg: Yes! I’m all over the place. Sometimes like this, sometimes like that. You swap roles. Sometimes you cheer me on, then vice versa. You do you, I do me!
In the song, are you flirting with the idea that social media hobbies only make you more open for an audience?
Anna Friedberg: I’ve never posted anything about my soccer team or my food. You see something beautiful and immediately think it would be a cool picture for Instagram. We look at the world through our Instagram grid.
Are you on social media privately?
Anna Friedberg: I don’t have a private Instagram, just the band account. But even there I think: is it absolutely necessary?
I always ask myself how one can get around social media.
Anna Friedberg: The problem is that people want private insights that no one else can give them.
But the question is: Do you have to?
Anna Friedberg: We are also on the tour bus with the band and do stories from there. But I actually think it’s better to maintain some kind of mystery. I’m usually disappointed when I see certain stories about people I thought were cool. Then I think to myself: I wish you hadn’t posted that!
You were on tour with Placebo, who have a strict policy that nobody films at concerts. Are you strict about that too?
Anna Friedberg: I’m always annoyed when people stand in the front row and film. How can you stand there and record the whole gig? I’m often on the verge of saying something. As a result, bad videos of us end up on YouTube. I’d rather people didn’t film us. But as a support act, I can’t really demand that. In our position, it’s actually quite good if a few people post something. But when we’re bigger, I think it would be cool not to see any more bad videos of me on the internet.
You haven’t released an album yet, yet you’ve been touring the whole time. How is that possible?
Anna Friedberg: Good question! First there was Covid, then came our EP. Everything took a long time in 2021 because I did a lot on my own and had no management. Then came the Hot Chip tour, which was financially difficult, and I had to find funding. That was a lot of work! I worked day and night for three months to make the tour possible. Then came AnnenMayKantereit, and there were festivals every weekend in the summer. At the same time, I was looking for someone to finalize the album with me. But I also work very slowly and always make lots of versions of every song. Without management and a record company, it all took time. But now everything is in place and we are ready to go on tour.
“QUICK DECISIONS LEAD TO MEETING MORE PEOPLE”
But you must be pretty busy for such opportunities to keep coming up?
Anna Friedberg: For example, the Hot Chip tour: I had a songwriting session with Alexis, the singer from Hot Chip, and that’s we met. Three months before their tour, he told me that LA Priest had dropped out as support, and: would we like to go? We said “yes” straight away, without knowing how we were going to manage it. I also recorded in the studio through Hot Chip and we became friends with the band. Then we got to know LCD Soundsystem. Each decision influenced the next. That’s how I met Oli Bayston, who has now finished producing our album. You just always have to go with it! Quick decisions lead to more connections with more people.
Does that mean you have confidence in the uncertainty of the future?
Anna Friedberg: Yes, absolutely! I don’t plan much ahead. What I find difficult is that I sometimes get lost in the details. But I’m not afraid of big things. I’m brave. Then I just move to London or go into the studio with someone. Then I do a tour on my own, I’m broke afterwards and have no idea how I’ll survive the rest of the year. But I always think to myself: it will work out!
“Myspace! Bring it back!”
Three singles have been released so far. How has the response been and how do you feel about it?
Anna Friedberg: On the USA tour in April, we played nineteen shows in twenty-one days. We were constantly in the Sprinter, sat in the car for eight to ten hours a day and were often almost late. The people who were at those shows are now our hardcore fans. Some have even had our lyrics tattooed on them. They’re already freaking out that “Hardcore Workout Queen” is coming out soon.
Did you know about these hardcore fans in the USA?
Anna Friedberg: Not at all! They were actually fans of Giant Rooks, then they became ours too.
And in Europe?
Anna Friedberg: It’s hard to tell. It’s all about Spotify playlists, which means you lose touch with the fans. You can’t draw conclusions about concertgoers from Spotify streams. We haven’t played a tour here yet, so we have no idea whether anyone will come at all.
Does this abstraction make the business more difficult?
Anna Friedberg: A lot of people start doing influencer stuff even though they want to make music. But the followers aren’t interested in what we really do. There are statistics showing that hardly anyone clicks on links to music. That’s why I plead: Myspace! Bring it back!
How does the stress you experienced in the USA affect you?
Anna Friedberg: I don’t find it that stressful as long as nobody gets sick. It’s only when I can’t sleep for a few nights that I get agitated. Especially at the beginning of the tour, because I’m responsible for everything. That’s when I’m on the edge.
But only you do the creative part for the album, right?
Anna Friedberg: Exactly, that was the case right from the start. I already had ten finished songs when I got to know the band. We then play the live versions in the rehearsal room. The songs are much more energetic live. We often do long percussion breaks, that’s when it really gets going!
What is the energy like on stage when four people play together?
Anna Friedberg: The energy is amazing! I recently brought a friend on stage and she said it was really intense. This energy is what defines us.
So Friedberg only becomes Friedberg on stage?
Anna Friedberg: It’s rare that you record an album live before you go into the studio, but that would actually be interesting!
How has the drive of the songs changed since the first EP?
Anna Friedberg: The album sounds different now. There are more krautrock elements. Many songs start small and get bigger and bigger at the end. Krautrock-like – it always starts minimal and gets more and more psychedelic. But “Hardcore Workout Queen” also sounds more minimalist than the EP. But I also love the drums and the dreamy touch.
You’re going on tour from November. What is your fan demographic like in Europe? Where are the biggest crowds?
Anna Friedberg: So far we’ve only played support shows in Europe. England, especially the north, has been the most euphoric. The fans are cooler in London. I don’t know about Vienna yet, we haven’t had our own show there.
Final question: Which act would you like to be on stage with next?
Anna Friedberg: LCD Soundsystem!
Thanks for the interview!
Anna Friedberg: Thank you too
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Translated from the German original by Arianna Alfreds.