Freyja Garbett, Solo Artist / Ian Moss / Katie Noonan

Freyja Garbett strides across genres as easily she does the keyboards she plays. That makes for an interesting chat as we move between rock, soul, Afrobeat, funk, jazz and a lot more. Lots to enjoy here! To listen / watch: Audio-only: click on the play button in the audio player above, or: Video: watch the...

The post Freyja Garbett, Solo Artist / Ian Moss / Katie Noonan appeared first on The Keyboard Chronicles.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
you
Hello and welcome to the Keyboard Chronicles, a podcast for keyboard players.
I'm your host, David Holloway, and I'm excited as always to be here with you.
This is one of the few occasions where I've had the pleasure of talking to someoneliterally from my home city.

(00:22):
And I can't think of anyone more interesting to talk to than Freya Garbutt.
As you'll hear, Freya's had an amazing career to date and she's barely getting started,both in the US, Australia and elsewhere to some extent as well.
So we try to cover as much of that as possible and her approach through both jazz, funk,soul, pop, rock, you name it, she's done it.

(00:44):
And she's had a hell of a learning experience along the way.
And we definitely cover off a lot of that.
So yeah, I do hope you enjoy this a great deal and I'll talk to you after the show.

(01:04):
It's an absolute pleasure to you on the show.
How are you this fine Wollongong evening?
um Wonderful, thank you David.
How about yourself?
Good, good.
I think you're only the second ever guest that I've been able to do on the local time zoneas far as our own city.
So it's an absolute pleasure to have you here amongst all the other amazing things we'regoing to talk about.

(01:25):
I thought we'd start off with what you've got coming up over the next 12 months.
We've got so much to talk about, about what you've done in recent years, but I thoughtwhat's on the horizon, near horizon for you?
I know you're doing some more recording and so on.
Just tell us a little bit about that.
Lae-Suhn-Huang so essentially I've just recorded an album actually last week, my guesssophomore album and that's at ABC.

(01:48):
That was at ABC.
I said that'll be on the ABC album.
And yeah, it was, I guess, a suite of music of mine that I've been developing for sometime.
And I, it's called Music from the Waves and that's featuring Australian saxophonist, SandyEvans.
And then I also had some really gorgeous vocalists come in and do some work.
And then I have Max Aldeucar on double bass and Miles Thomas on the drums.

(02:12):
And yeah, it's quite an eclectic fusion of styles.
And I think growing up.
in this area, it's hard to not be influenced by the ocean.
And for me, I've become an avid surfer.
yeah, highly inspired by that too.
Yeah, so tell us a little bit about more, as you said, it's quite a diverse album.

(02:32):
I did see on your Instagram someone had reviewed it as a prog rock wig out.
tell us a little bit more about what your approach was there and what itch it scratchedfor you.
Yeah, that is such a bad ass review.
We just did a gig down at the Monash Big Jazz Day Out festival a couple of weeks ago and awriter, yeah, she wrote the prog rock wig out and I was like, man, that's just so

(02:57):
accurate.
Essentially, there are elements of my, I guess the work that I do creating music onAbleton and using synthesizers as like a bed for me to do some spoken word stuff over.
But then we do a lot of improvised elements too.
um And then there's some through composed pieces, which I guess, yeah, maybe that's whatshe's referencing because they might start off quite almost folk, folky, or just quite

(03:28):
pretty.
And it's hard to explain really without showing you, but.
then all of a sudden we'll just kind of go into this really, you know, straight 16th heavykind of, yeah, feel.
then that might disassemble into something quite bizarre and improvised.
So yeah, it is a journey.
And I guess I'm trying to emulate my experience of surfing and the experience of differentwaves and just, yeah, the nature of the ocean.

(03:58):
Brilliant, love it.
No, so we'll definitely come back to the prog rock or the synthy stuff later on for sure.
I do want to jump back to your musical upbringing.
So tell us about, Frey Garvat, your early years sort of into teenage years and realisingthat you may have a sort of innate passion to do music for a living.
So I grew up in Otford, which is just this tiny little town.

(04:21):
um It's almost in the Royal National Park.
And I guess I grew up there because my parents wanted to escape humans.
And my dad, ah he was raised by, I guess, an audiophile and a vi...
Um, a violinist, my granddad.

(04:41):
And then, yeah, my dad is just quite this eccentric character who almost taught himselfall these instruments and he would build violins and harpsichords and double basses.
And that's just what he did for fun.
And he would listen to a lot of jazz and a lot of classical music and I guess folk music,all sorts of things.

(05:01):
Um, and that's just.
what I was around and I guess he taught me violin and piano when I was quite young.
I started learning violin when I was about five and then I started learning piano aroundthe age of eight.
And then my older brother was learning piano and he became a professional trumpet playerand he began to, I guess, take part in the Wollongong Conservatorium Jazz Program and went

(05:25):
on to study at Sydney Conservatorium.
And I guess it was just sort of a natural.
thing for me to also be involved in those programs.
And I didn't feel that very comfortable, you know, learning jazz, but I was lucky that mydad kind of broke it down to me and I attended the women's jazz course in Sydney.

(05:47):
And actually that was led and is still led by Sandy Evans.
And yeah, she's obviously featured on my album, which is really beautiful.
And I guess I just sort of.
I don't know, it's been an interesting journey.
Like I haven't really just stuck with the whole jazz route.
I'm really into pop music, I'm really into reggae, I'm really into Afrobeat, funk, allsorts of things.

(06:09):
So it's been, yeah, a bit of this, a bit of that.
And I guess it wasn't until I attended, yeah, I went to Berklee College of Music in 2012and they actually came and auditioned people in Sydney.
And I feel like that year was almost, I think, I guess that was 2011.
That was sort of like the cutoff years, like when the Aussie dollar was still strong, theywere actually coming over to Australia to audition us.

(06:34):
it was, I think it was like probably the last opportunity that for me, that could haveeven been possible for my family and I.
And yeah, it's just funny how things work.
And I was just thrown into this whole new world.
was wild.
And I guess I just was like,
Holy shit, there's so much cool stuff going on here.

(06:54):
I need to practice a lot.
Just locked myself in the practice room and felt, yeah, just so out of my depth, but alsoreally um nurtured in that environment, which was really nice.
Like there was just so much to choose from.
You could study film scoring, could study production and engineering, but there were justsuch a, it was such a wide range of musicians and styles.

(07:19):
And I just,
was like, this is perfect for me because I never felt like a jazz musician, do what mean?
And I guess that kind of guided my, yeah, my journey and pushed me along a lot because Iwas like in the deep end and I was so, so in the deep end.
And let's talk a little bit about that deep end, Fro.

(07:41):
So even though 70 % of our audience is US based, there are a lot of us that aren't in theUS.
So I'm really fascinated as an outsider quotation marks, what was the audition process andthe actual rough course structure for you at Berkeley?
How was it so immersive and so invigorating?
The audition process was really simple.

(08:03):
think we just went into a room at JCM in Sydney and were asked to perform a tune or twosolo with, I think I had a bass player with me and we did some ear training and some
scales maybe, some reading and then they, it was really relaxed.
I was shocked and then they, yeah, they, think they
generally offer really good scholarships for international students because they realizeobviously it's such a different thing for us and we have to obviously pay for its

(08:32):
accommodation and all of these extra costs.
So I was very lucky to receive a nice scholarship for that somehow.
And then the actual course structure there.
So essentially you go over and they put you in like levels or bands, can't remember whatit or ratings, they give you ratings.
So you go and do these rating auditions every, I don't know, every semester or something.

(08:59):
They give you numbers that mean, okay, you're able to, you're able to be a part of theseensembles and the ensembles might be anything from the Beyonce ensemble to the Art Blakey
ensemble and the J Dilla ensemble.
was so cool.
Then you're a, yeah.
And I guess the ratings, or the ratings only determine.

(09:20):
the performance based stuff and then you go and do some sort of like placement, eartraining and theoretical examinations and they place you in levels for that.
And then the thing that took me by surprise and took me off guard was that studying in theUS automatically means that you have to also undertake a liberal arts degree.

(09:43):
So essentially I was just having to write these essays and attend all these classes.
um
as well as yeah, this huge, I guess, um amount of work just in music alone.
was a lot.
It was a lot.
I was shocked.
America, they're hardcore over there.
It's very different to attending Wollongong High School.

(10:05):
Yeah.
But it sounds like, as you said, it sounds like an immersive experience and I can onlyimagine the networks or collaborations you started there.
So, I mean, when you finished at Berklee, what was your first, well, your first seriousproject may have started there, but what were the first musical projects you were getting
heavily involved in throughout that period?

(10:25):
Yeah.
So what was I getting heavily involved in?
Probably what everybody was getting heavily involved in, which was like Neo Soul andRobert Glasper and Hyatt's Coyote.
This is such a cliche.
And then obviously I was, yeah, I mean, I've always been an avid listener of differentjazz.

(10:46):
pianists, yeah, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Bonnie McCall in Australia.
And I guess I probably was just attempting to emulate the playing of these great pianistsand then also play in neo-soul and hip hop bands and be cool, you know.
So yeah, was really interesting.

(11:07):
think I just, I also got to meet all these amazing musicians who were
already becoming something or were something.
mean, we literally could go and see these geeks for like $2 or I think I, yeah, I got tosee Erika Bardu, I got to see D'Angelo playing with like Chris Dave and Pino Palladino.

(11:30):
Erika was playing with Chris Dave and Pino Palladino and Pino was also on the D'Angelo gigfor like 20...
bucks or something, do you what mean?
And it was just, I didn't even know the gig was on and it was just like, oh yeah, thatgig's on tonight.
was just like, wait, what?
And I was, I was obsessed with Erica at that time.
Yeah, it was, it was fascinating.
And I was learning from a pianist named Alon Malay.

(11:55):
Yeah.
I think that's how you say it.
I'm just like racking my brain.
Oh yeah, that's right.
And he was Alam Malay, sorry, Alam Malay, A-L-A-I-N.
He, I think he used to be Paul Simon's musical director, but he's this French pianist andhe was really hardcore and he told me how it was and um he made me feel really
uncomfortable, but then also gave me just so much.

(12:16):
um Yeah.
He kind of was just such a great teacher.
Like I think I had, I was really lucky to have these teachers who really broke it down andthey also had such a wide breadth.
of experience, like they didn't just play jazz, they played all these other styles ofmusic and they were producers.
And I guess for me, that was quite eye opening.

(12:37):
I think in Australia, I often felt like it was this way or the highway, like this is whatyou do.
And there was no really explanation, it was just like, do it.
Whereas over there, I think they were obviously teaching all of these students from allthese different backgrounds.
And so they really had
really great teaching chops.

(12:58):
And yeah, I cried a lot.
And so I want to come back.
So you mentioned he made you feel uncomfortable.
it just pushing those skill boundaries or what was it particularly that stretched you?
I guess I just had a lot of catching up to do and I was also just quite an anxious person.
And I think he, there was just a lot of information, you know, it was like, I think I hada really good grasp of theory just from studying like classical piano and things and

(13:29):
getting to a high level quite young with that sort of stuff.
And then the jazz, I just remember at Wollongong Con it was just like, we just didn'treally get that much.
information.
was just like, just play, just improvise, whatever, who cares?
It wasn't structured.
So I sort of just said, well, this is chill.
It's so easy.
I don't really have to think.
It's great.
Like it's so different to classical.

(13:51):
can just relax and then going to learn from these people who, really knew their shit.
It was like, no, there's infinite things and you really need to hone your skills and youneed to get this down.
And, know, obviously just the
the chordal theory and just the ability to play solo piano and I guess shape, shape astandard and make it tell us, you know, allow it to tell a story, but with your own, your

(14:18):
own take on it.
Like every time it's going to be different.
And it was like, you really have to have this wide vocabulary.
to select from so that when you do go to improvise, it's different every time.
And there's just a lot to that.
think it takes many years for that to sink in.
some people, it had already sunk in by the time they got to Berkeley.

(14:40):
now they're, you know, I mean, it was wild.
Like I have a lot of friends who have gone on to be quite famous or quite well-recognized.
And I guess they'd almost done the work prior to attending.
Like I had a housemate of mine who
When we were living together, was hired by, yeah, like Michelle and Deguiocello, who he'sstill playing with.

(15:01):
And then he went on to play with See You and he's playing with everybody now.
had all, you know, has all these Grammys and that, and he's, yeah, he'd already done thework essentially.
Yeah.
no, but that's great.
It's great insights.
And I mean, it goes that saying Berkeley is an amazing breeding ground, let alone comingfrom another country and feeling like you have to play catch up.
I think it's an amazing effort.

(15:22):
so what, what, and please do jump in if I'm jumping too far ahead, but what brought youback to Australia and, um, or it's actually, probably ask what, what
was the juncture at which you went, okay, I'm going to continue this as far as a full-timeliving.
Was there ever any doubt it was going to be a career for you rather than a, not a hobby,but just a sideline?

(15:44):
Yeah, so many doubts.
Still doubting.
It's been, yeah, it's just been so up and down.
I think I'm somebody, so essentially I studied a jazz composition degree, which is reallyfunny because now if I went back, I would go and do the music and production degree
because it would just make so much more sense in this day and age.
But yeah, I did a, I did the jazz composition degree and a dual like performance degree.

(16:09):
So I guess that in itself was a lot.
to tackle and it also just doesn't really have a clear career path, especially inAustralia.
coming, but lucky for me, I think I sort of can, I could see ahead and I could see how youcould be a professional musician just because of my brother, my older brother's path.

(16:32):
And he's about seven years older than me.
So it was sort of like, oh, I can see how I can make money.
And for some reason, I think maybe just by being stubborn and being.
Yeah, short-sighted, I'd just be like, yep, I'll do this.
Yep, I'll do this.
And, you know, how do I get gigs?
And I'd be going out and seeing a lot of music.
I think I came back to Australia in 2017 and was thinking, this is so cool.

(16:57):
It's so easy here.
don't have to, you know, I can just, there's nobody on the beach and there's nobodyanywhere.
And I can just have all this space and time to evolve as a musician and I can afford tolive.
So I just sort of.
uh
couple of years just thought, oh, this is, you know, I'm living in heaven.
Um, and I guess I just went out and checked out a lot of gigs in Sydney at the time.

(17:21):
And yeah, just kept practicing in my spare time and tried to just try to be hired.
I think I was just playing in some reggae bands and then writing my own stuff.
think Apra gave me a commission to write something and I wrote like a suite for it, almostlike a big band.
And yeah, it's just sort of stumbled along over the years and being thrown into, yeah,thrown into the deep end over and over and over and over.

(17:47):
And I'm like, what am I doing?
And other times they'd be like, yeah, I'm killing this.
And, you know, it's just back and forth, back and forth.
And at the back of my mind, I was always like, I've got to get back to the States, but itjust kind of never happened.
I am about to go back there finally, but it's been, yeah, it's been a really interestingjourney.
And I think in Australia, we.

(18:08):
We kind have to be a jack of all trades.
we have to, yeah, it's like this week you're going to do, you know, these three gigs orwhatever, and they'll just all be so different.
I just didn't, I don't think you have to be like that in America so much.
I you kind of get really good at one thing.

(18:29):
that's been, I'm realizing what a blessing that is now, but it has, it was.
Yeah.
There's just no, you know, explanation.
It's just like, learn all this music and there's no charts.
Like it's just like, like, just figure it out and we're going to this big long gig andthere's a shit ton of music to learn and don't ask questions.
Just do it.
And I just didn't have that training while attending Berkeley.

(18:52):
I think at Berkeley it was very like specific, which was good for that time.
And then, yeah, this has been a whole other journey.
And I think I've ended up playing in such different.
Yes.
Such different styles of music.
Yeah, we're going to talk about that for sure.
Yeah, by God, there is diversity there.
And we definitely got to get onto that.

(19:12):
So just before we leave the US and I know you mentioned before we started recording thatyou just recently had an interaction with Larry Golding's and we had the pleasure of
having Larry on the show about a year ago.
I mean, the man is a legend.
He's got one of the most wonderful senses of humor I've ever come across.
Just tell us a little bit about that just to go off on a tangent.
Yeah, Yale Hans, growing up.

(19:32):
So I just was over in LA for six weeks or so.
He, I just decided that I wanted to get as many piano lessons as I could.
And yeah, I guess, yeah, one of my friends who from, that I lived with at Berkeley gave mehis number because they do a lot of stuff together.
And I went over to his house and we hung out and had a lesson and it was epic because he'ssuch an interesting.

(19:58):
guy.
It was funny, it was quite early in the morning and he started off being, I don't know,just like a little bit cloudy and he's just like waking up and then started to get into
it.
think he realized that I was responding to things maybe, you know, was finding him to bereally funny and also just ask you a lot of...

(20:18):
specific questions about his playing and about what he was doing.
And so he just leant into it and then he sort of like effortlessly transitioned betweenHans and Larry, Hans and Larry.
And I was like, this is just too good to be true.
And then I went and saw him play a couple of times and he was like so stoked.
think he, cause he was like, cool.
You know, this is like somebody I can make laugh.
I remember like he approached me at one of the gigs I went and saw it, the Sam first bar.

(20:43):
And he came up and I think he like, I think he.
had a hands groin or shirt or something and he was like, hello, it's hands and like puthis head behind it.
And I was sort of just, I was really out of it then and I was sort of like, yeah, hey,like what?
He was like a put off.
then anyway, we just had all these really funny interactions and yeah, just as such a,such an interesting musician because obviously he's like the jazz thing is ingrained and

(21:12):
um he's
And he's organ playing is insane.
actually asked him about, I was like, can you give me some insights on the organ?
And he was like, I don't really practice the organ.
just play it like when I needed to.
I was like, oh, good for you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But, um, yeah, I guess he's somebody that doesn't, it just feels like he's alwaysexploring and always like looking to do new things and not really, um, not really know how

(21:43):
to explain it.
It's like he's.
bloody 15 years old forever, you know?
Yes.
Perhaps.
I think that's a good way of putting it.
m
He's an innovator.
It's beautiful.
And I just love that.
I love that he's not bitter or twisted, you know, I mean, a little bit, we all are, buthe's just like, yeah, excited every day.

(22:06):
Yeah, no amazing amazing musician and guy and so the reason I asked about Larry Golding'sFrayer is to you you mentioned just before I asked about that about in Australia to be
Jack of all trades and you've covered so we are going to cover the huge middle ground thatyou tend to inhabit but I'm going to go from one extreme to the other from Larry Golding's
to Ian Moss.
Now I'm going to explain to our non-Australian listeners, Ian Moss is a god in rockcircles in Australia.

(22:30):
If you use the American example, I'd say something like he's Steve Van Sant to BruceSpring.
He's an amazing guitar player, rock artist, had his own solo career and so on.
That'd be my best comparison.
But you couldn't get more different to your Berkeley experience and stuff like that.
So, and being an Australian, I have to ask about Mossy as well.
So tell us about how that gig came about, but we are going to go to all that other stuffas well.

(22:52):
Yeah, of course.
um Yes, the Mossy gig, I guess I was starting to play some blues.
I think I played a couple of gigs at the Thredbo Blues Festival.
Yes, that's the thing.
You just end up playing these styles.
And I guess I was leaning into the organ thing and really going for it.

(23:12):
I guess I'm quite an enthusiastic performer.
And that caught the eye of somebody.
And then that person told somebody, I don't know.
And then I think he was looking for a
Yeah, keys player and um Clayton Doley is just always with Jimmy Barnes and never free andClayton was like, he's guy, you know, and yet Clayton's just, it was like a God to me.

(23:33):
was like, he's like one of the best players of all time.
So yeah, I was asked and then I was asked to come and audition, I guess.
And so I rocked up and Marcy and I were in a, I think he was like an hour and a half late.
Like I remember sitting in the room being like,
what's happening, is this normal?
And then I messaged somebody and they said, oh yeah, no, that's fine.

(23:55):
Like that's normal.
It's like, okay, this is kind of out.
Waited, waited, waited.
And they kind of was just like, okay, I need to go outside because I'm going crazy.
And he was sitting in his car and I was like, oh, hey.
And he's like, oh, hey.
And then came stumbled in and I sort of had to encourage him and then I was like set uphis mic for him and set everything up.
And I think he was very like.

(24:16):
Just, I don't know, I guess probably hungover us, you know, just like easing into the day.
Yeah.
He's an interesting guy.
Like maybe he wasn't hungover, but he's, he's like a true musician, musician.
Like he practices every day and yeah, like on the road, he'll, I'll just walk past hisroom and he'd be shedding and learn and always asking questions about jazz and just like

(24:37):
really intrigued by, yeah, by, by music and always wanting to learn so, and quite shy.
Yeah, so we did, I think he got me to play a few tunes with him that he'd sent through andwe played, I don't know, as a duo or with the, it was bizarre.
It was, it just didn't, it didn't, it wasn't what I was expecting.

(25:00):
And he was just like, yeah, you know, play more or something.
I'd be like, all right, and I'd just like lay in and then he'd be like, sing this note.
And I'd be like, ah, and he's like, scream it.
And I'll be like, ah, cause he wanted me to do backing vocals.
Yeah, it was pretty odd.
And then he's like, yeah, I think this is going to work.
And I was like, okay, I don't know what's happening right now.

(25:21):
um And yeah, the two are that first two, I think that was like August, 2023 or whatever.
And it was great.
think it was, it was pretty wild.
It was a lot of organ.
it was, I had two, just two nords essentially.
And they, I think they,

(25:42):
They used to take with them like a B3 organ, but it was just always, there was alwaysissues in soundcheck.
It just took too long.
So yeah, we, just sort of went for it it just happened and it was a really incredibleexperience that that tour in particular, I think we did like a live album at the Enmore
and that was like my third gig with them.

(26:03):
And it was wild because to be honest, I didn't know who he was.
Okay, that's fair enough, you'll learn to say that.
Yeah, my dad, like I was just raised, I didn't listen to any Ozzy Rock.
I didn't know who he was when I got asked to do the gig and then I had to investigate andthen yeah, I've learned so much and I was very ignorant and I'm glad that I've had this

(26:27):
insight and it's a whole scene like we, know, the big red bash and these gigs were like,it was, I was like, wow, this is Australia.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, that's exactly right.
And that's why I asked you about him, because it couldn't get more different from yourtraining and some of the other gigs you play.
it is essentially, and I'm not, don't mean this in a demeaning way, but it's four to thefloor rock.

(26:50):
It's great.
He's a great songwriter from a rock viewpoint.
But what did you have to do as a player?
Like as much as you said, you needed to lay in on some songs, were there some things youactually had to pull back a little bit compared to your training?
No, not at all.
was very much like, I think I learned so much because Clayton Doley's playing is reallyincredible and like really, he just would respond to the music in a very particular way.

(27:17):
So was kind of just transcribing what Clayton had done.
It actually, I think somebody was like, play like you, like you don't have to play likeClayton.
And I was like, well, that's hard because he's so fucking awesome.
So I was.
I learned so much about playing organ and playing rock piano because that was reallyuncomfortable because I was like, no, like this is not really my natural instinct and

(27:44):
feel.
It was very much as it is with any gigs, like learn on the go, you know, and hope for thebest.
And I think like every time we did the gig, it would just click like, and I would, I don'tknow, at that time, I don't drink anymore, but like.
They're all big, really big drinkers.
And so I would just have a shot of something and just play as much, you know, as I couldand kind of just get into it as much as I could.

(28:11):
And Mossy really dug it.
And we kind of would have to do these improvised sections.
We did a lot of improvising.
There's lots of like little solos and then like in Never Before, we would do this big kindof crazy improv thing together.
And that was pretty wild because Mossy often he plays with like two amps.
And it's like so bloody loud.

(28:32):
And sometimes I just, couldn't really hear things properly.
It was a really, it was a pretty tough gig like on that tour because it was just likefiguring out this whole new thing.
And I had all these new roles to play, but I, I just did what I do for any gig now, whichis just like learn it as much as I possibly could.
And I guess when you actually come to play the gig, you just go into this whole otherthing and you're responding to the audience and the audience is going nuts.

(28:59):
So that was really cool.
That was a really nice feeling.
Yeah.
Yeah, I don't know.
think, I think it was, I think I was lucky that I'd done all of this other random stuffleading up to that.
I wouldn't have been able to do the gig otherwise.
Like I've been doing all these other gigs with people and I couldn't do any of that when Ileft Berkeley.
Do you what mean?

(29:19):
When I came back to Australia, I was just thrown into all these different scenarios.
And so I learned to, yeah, learned to play, I guess, Aussie rock and learned to play bluesand.
All these things.
couldn't do that at all when I left Berkeley.
So I'm lucky in that sense.
um Isn't it bizarre?
No, no, and I think it's more than acceptable for you not to know Ian Moss.
If you were my age, you'd quite rightly be banished to another country.

(29:42):
m
I should be.
I hope he never hears this.
No, no, but you're of a generation that I wouldn't expect you necessarily would.
I think that's more than reasonable.
And so I do want to cover, you mentioned there a whole bunch of artists you played with inthe lead up to that, because that's only recent.
What were some of the ones rather than, I mean, I've got literally a list of 20 here, butwhat would be some of the standouts for you as far as you really learnt some new ways of

(30:06):
playing or how you needed to adjust your approach in the lead up to that the last coupleof years?
One of the main ones, and it's still a thing, is Touch Sensitive, who's, I guess, like apop synth guy.
He's, I don't know how to explain it, but it's sort of like bridging, yeah, this like oldschool synth thing, even 70s synth thing with like modern pop.

(30:30):
And he taught me to play synth.
Yeah.
I got it.
Same thing.
Like I just got that gig.
because the other keys player couldn't do the tour and then I was given a profit for it orI got it won really cheaply because my key, Michael DeFrancisco, who's touch sensitive,
yeah, it's like has a really close, had a really close relationship with Dave Smith.

(30:54):
who designed all those synths, the sequential synths.
And I was so uncomfortable and I just learned on the job.
And I think one thing I'm good at is when I'm actually doing the gig, just like reallyleaning into the performance.
And I think the first gig or two was like not great.
And then I sort of just started to figure it out.

(31:16):
um But yeah, there was a really incredible audiences and um
Yeah, learning all of these like individual little parts.
So I learned, you know, having like two or three keyboards or synths and having to reallyhone in on like specific little lines and emulate them from the track and then learn

(31:40):
about, I guess, Ableton and tracks.
And I was also doing like, I did a course in Ableton and I guess it's funny, like at thattime it was, I was just like, I have no idea what's going on.
I'm just really just trying to like hold on for dear life.
And now I'm like, yeah, I don't know exactly what's going on.

(32:00):
And I can talk about it and I can go into Ableton and do it myself.
But that took years.
um And yeah, Mikey and I, he's about to release an album soon and I did a bit of stuff onthat, but he lives in LA and I was just over at his house recently.
We did a bit of a session and then we're, I'm going back there and we might do some stuff,but he's just been.

(32:22):
a really good friend and somebody that's taught me, yeah, I guess a lot about that world,that synth world, which is another thing I just had no idea about at all.
And I'm still learning every day and I have a few synths, I guess it's, yeah, it's justalways been, it's never been, I don't know why this happens to me, but yeah, I just get

(32:45):
thrown in and I just will figure it out as I go.
And, Fray, is it fair to say that you're getting to know synths as sort bled over intoyour own solo work, so you're finding you're starting to incorporate some of that stuff in
your own work?
Yeah, of course.
Like it's been such a bit of, yeah, like interest for me.
And I love to, I love try to incorporate a lot of that into my original stuff now.

(33:10):
And yeah, there's, there's a, you know, I do like a solo synth sort of thing in this suiteof music.
And I do, I play some gigs, I'll play a lot of synth and then other gigs I won't play muchat all.
It'll be more like, you know, piano and you know, piano kind of focus stuff.
Just depending on what the gig is.

(33:30):
Sometimes the synth thing doesn't even probably work for that scenario and I'll do itanyway.
people are like, well, what's going on?
But yeah, I guess it's been a real joy to learn about synthesizers.
And also I've just completed my masters at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
And that, that taught me a lot more about, about that world and about synthesis and aboutMIDI and just because of

(33:56):
the nature of the masters that I, or the topic, the research topic that I chose, which isessentially I had some, um, some motion detectors made that are waterproof or most of the
time waterproof.
Um, I had them made by, yeah, Ed Kushel at Elk electronic in Wollongong and I wore themsurfing.
And so I would, that would, that motion data that was recorded while surfing wouldtransfer into mini data.

(34:25):
and then upload that into Ableton and then that would, I would then process it throughVSTs or synthesizers.
yeah, it was really fun.
And it was another, yeah, it's been like another learning curve.
I just learned so much and I just had no idea about any of it at the start.
And now I think I'm like, okay, yeah, I think I'm just starting to get a grasp.

(34:45):
I've just written a whole research project about a big thesis.
And finally I'm like, yeah, I think I get this.
then, it's just kind of how it goes.
And then you, that will.
send you into a whole other little world and you get to meet or you hear all this othermusic that you just had no idea about and that really broadens your horizons.
And I love that.
Like it's just really beautiful.

(35:06):
And I've learned, I don't know, I've met so many great people or learned about artiststhat I just wouldn't never have discovered.
And for me, that's sort of, yeah, the best part of this little musical journey.
Yeah, no, absolutely.
So I'm assuming you've run across Sarah Bell-Reed at some stage because she does lots ofstuff with motion, like the senses and all that sort of stuff.

(35:31):
I have heard of her but not, yeah, can you tell me more?
That's okay.
Yeah, we had her on the show recently.
She had lots of fascinating stories in similar vein.
Sick.
Yeah.
No, she was great.
And so I do have to ask the inevitable synth question now that we've got you in this areaand that is what, what do you own?

(35:51):
And then I understand it will vary, but gigs, but what are some of your go-to sins thatyou do tend to take to a gig, you know, just for your work?
Yeah, for my stuff, always take, usually I take my Prophet Rev 2 and then I have asequential Pro 3 that I have started using.
And I think that was like the last, maybe one of the last since that was, that Dave Smithworked on before he died.

(36:19):
And I guess I have my Korg mini log, which I sometimes take.
I have, what else do I have?
I don't even know, I have a moog, fatty.
Nice.
I love playing my, yeah, Novation bass station.
I've done a lot of bass geeks.

(36:40):
That's really fun.
Yeah.
Like my, you know, just MIDI keyboards connected to Keyscape on Ableton.
Yeah.
I've got some others.
Yeah, and you're running, well that's a good point, so either via Ableton or other, you'rerunning soft synths that depending on the gig?
um I generally don't, but I do, I have, like I have for specific, yeah, like tours orwhatever, but I generally don't do that, even though it would probably make life easier.

(37:07):
But then I don't know, there's something about like the physicality of like having, youknow, the proper rig and not a computer and just like not thinking about it, chucking all
that shit in my car and going and like getting on the gig and being like, this is tooheavy.
Why did I do this?
Why didn't I think ahead and like have a sauce?
But yeah, like I had, I think even for the Mossy gig I used for that first tour, I had touse like a specific patch and just for one tune, you know?

(37:35):
But, and I have had to do that, yeah, for like probably touch sensitive gigs and differentlike hip hop gigs and things like that.
It's pretty murky now, but yeah.
I mean, I record, I often record, yeah, using different like patches on Ableton.
and using my MIDI keyboard and compose that way.

(37:56):
Yeah.
Great.
Now, excellent.
And the other, do need to go again from one extreme to the other.
We're sort of ping ponging between lots of genres.
You had this amazing project, a kind of harsh, the music of Karen Carpenter.
And so you obviously played, I believe an MD role, so playing and with some amazing eyes.
Tell us a little bit about the genesis of that.

(38:17):
And I do want to talk, cause Karen Carpenter is obviously an iconic play out musiciansongwriter.
What sort of kicked that off?
So I was asked by Katie Noonan to, I guess, MD and play keys on this tour, on this KarenCarpenter tour.
um So Katie was on vocals as well as Abby Dobson and Melinda Schneider.

(38:38):
We had a really epic band.
Yeah, so initially it was supposed to be Loz Benson on drums, but she got asked to do, Iguess, the Angus and Julia Stone European tour.
So it ended up being Dexter Katie's son on drums last minute.
It was just pretty cool.
Yeah.
And he crushed it.
was like, I think he's only like 18.

(38:58):
then, yeah, Lucy Clifford on bass and Kathleen Helleran on guitar.
Both beasts.
Yeah.
And Lucy's been living in New York and.
Boston for many years and Kathleen's obviously Kate Sobrano's right-hand woman.
So yeah, it was a pretty kickass all female group.
And essentially my role was to develop the arrangements and charts and do all of that.

(39:23):
And then kind of in the actual rehearsals, try to create some clarity.
But um there was a lot going on at that time in everybody's lives.
It happened to be quite a chaotic little time.
We missed, yeah, there was a lot of last minute rehearsal stuff and I think our first gigwas like sold out at the Sydney Opera House in the main room there and wow, it was so much

(39:45):
pressure and I was like, we are not prepared.
And they loved it, but things happen, know, like I think Kathleen's pedal, somethinghappened with her amp.
There was just like.
So many things went wrong, but it was still a really beautiful gig that people relishbecause yeah, guess the music speaks volumes and people, know, that's, that's that music

(40:10):
is obviously been with people since they were children and Karen's story is just thisheartbreaking, heartbreaking story.
And that was a really, yeah, another really insightful thing for me because I hadn'texplored her catalog or her life.
prior to that and then that was like, wow, like that's this whole other world that I wasopened up to and the arrangements are just insane.

(40:36):
That music is really.
that's what I wanted to ask you, Frey.
I wanted to ask you that.
What did you learn about her as a musician by doing those arrangements and playing thosegigs?
Yeah, so I guess I learned that a lot of the music and the arrangements were written byher brother, Richard Carpenter.
And he was kind of like a savant pianist and I guess composer, arranger.

(40:59):
And I think their mom was like championing Richard and saying that he, you know, he waskind of like the star child.
And Karen, guess she was doing, she started playing drums and singing and
think their mom was quite, I don't know, she just like almost wouldn't acknowledge thatthat was like a possibility.

(41:23):
And Karen was just such a natural musician and kind of, guess, is, you know, she becamethe centerpiece of this group and they kind of took off, I think, and Karen started to
just like do the lead vocal role and get away from the drums, even though like, I thinkthat was her real strong point, you know?

(41:44):
She sort of left it up to Richard to do all of the decisions regarding the arrangementsand all of that.
And it seemed like she just had this sort of, yeah, like maybe not a sense of herself.
Like she didn't really ever find that.
And she was quite tortured as a person and she dealt with anorexia her whole life andmaybe just never really, never really found her place.

(42:07):
And I think she was not really supported properly by her parents and.
Richard was just kind of, yeah, take maybe like, guess, I guess he ended up just being thedecision maker through all of that.
And it just, it just seems like a very unfortunate situation because I think she washerself, a uh savant and such an incredible musician, but because of perhaps the time that

(42:34):
she was born and just like the, yeah, the circumstances at that time.
she wasn't able to lean into that the way that she would be able to now.
yeah, and then just battled this anorexia and died at 32.
Yeah, it was very young.
Yeah, was around there.

(42:55):
horrifying and they did so much.
They made so much music and it's incredible.
Like I was blown away.
was just like, how is, yeah, just the dedication and time put into that stuff is so, sostunning.
But yeah, it was, was a really sad tour.
Like it was, it felt heavy.
Like it felt really heavy because we were talking about these stories every night.

(43:19):
I think each of us as musicians too, we, um
We're all women and we all exist in this realm of, yeah, like mostly male dominatedenvironments.
And we're all really different.
And I think we just all have, we've had big times, you know, we've had, we had a lot totalk about and reflect on.

(43:44):
And it was a hard time for Katie personally and just, yeah, it's just, was a lot, I think,and we did a lot of We 20 shows back to back that were sold out.
It was cool.
Yeah.
But it was, was tour.
Yeah.
But you raised a really important point there.
Are things improving in regards to gender balance and treatment of women in music?

(44:06):
I know I've had this discussion with a number of our guests and it feels like sometimesit's improving and sometimes it's not.
Even in sort of the past decade, do feel it's getting better or does it feel like it's alittle bit stagnant as far as progress?
feel like it depends where you are and what the gig is, who you're around.
To me, I feel constantly torn by that.

(44:29):
Like some days I'm like, wow, things are really changing.
Like I'm maybe just the way somebody's speaking to me at a gig or showing me, yeah, justthe time of day and perhaps wanting to receive feedback from me, whether that's just that
I'm
getting older now and I've done a bunch of stuff or whether it's, it seems, it seems to bethis thing that there's an awareness.

(44:53):
And then obviously being asked to do certain gigs like the Mossy gig and the Katie gig,like I think there is obviously a push to try and yeah, try and champion women in those
ways.
A lot of other times I feel, especially in Australia, I feel like we've sort of quitestagnant here.
And I think the nature of our

(45:15):
industry is that things don't really change.
When I think they are changing, often I'm not, I'm then like reminded quite quickly thatno, it's, it's always just stays the same.
Like things don't really develop.
But you know, they're trying, I mean, there's more females on bills and stuff, but it'salways men at the top.

(45:36):
Like it's kind of just the way it's always been.
But yeah, it's just, yeah, it just depends what it is.
And I think I'm lucky that
I've had such a wide breadth of experiences.
Um, so I've been able to lean into my own and I've, yeah, I've really lent in to myoriginal stuff.
I think that that's really important because otherwise I probably wouldn't feel veryfulfilled because there are, yeah, you do feel like a bit of a fish out of water, um, at

(46:04):
times and you do feel like, oh, the men always get those things, you know, it's alwaysgoing to be the same people.
Um, or you just feel a little bit othered, but, um
think it's also a personality thing.
like, depends what type of person you are, maybe like some women suit, like, yeah, beingon the road and being in those environments more.

(46:25):
And then other women, yeah, this doesn't feel so comfortable for them.
And it obviously depends on who the band is and what sort of tour it is.
for example, yeah, Missy Higgins' band, that's mostly all women and all the noobs, youknow.
It's mostly women, but there's, yeah, there's a couple of guys, but I think just thenature of it, you know, she's had babysitters on the road um for the, you know, kids that

(46:51):
might come along and kind of, I guess it's just like that, that environment I think isvery nurturing for women.
then obviously, yeah, a lot of other things.
And I've obviously spoken to a lot of women who, yeah, they just feel, they feel prettylike, Oh, I don't belong here.
Like this is not.
I did it again.

(47:12):
I did another tour and it's just, I still don't feel like I belong or like I was treatedthis way on the bus, the tour bus, or I was really, it was really obvious to me that I
wasn't respected.
And yeah, I experienced that.
I've experienced that a lot.
Um, but then other times, yeah, like I did a gig recently that, um, I felt so seen andheard and

(47:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess.
And then, yeah, that will happen.
And I'll be like, so relaxing and lovely to be in this environment.
Yeah.
It just, honestly, it just depends.
Yeah.
So, yeah, I don't know.
It's hard to give specifics because you don't want to call it.
agree.
No, I agree.
Yeah, and I understand the yeah.

(48:02):
jazz as a genre is pretty, yeah, there's this pretty stagnant in Australia.
But in the States, I feel way more seen and accepted and I think there's a lot more workavailable for women as performers.
So yeah, I'm kind of getting over there soon trying to make the move.
Yeah.

(48:23):
Great perspective.
Thank you for that.
That's okay.
look, we haven't covered a whole bunch of really amazing artists you've worked with, soI'm actually going to ask you a question for you to pick three artists that have made the
biggest impression on you and why throughout your career to date.
Right, that I've performed with or...
Yeah, that you'll worked with, yeah.
I guess three artists, yeah, that I've let me have, yeah, let me wrap my brain.

(48:47):
feel like obviously, yeah, I think I've listed two of them, which would be Ian Moss andTouch Sensitive, just because I guess those gigs are quite well received and there's a lot
of material to learn.
And I think it really pushed me along in my ability to play in those styles and stylesthat I hadn't really explored as much.

(49:10):
And then.
I know, I've played with Stella Donnelly.
was, she's just an amazing person.
And that was really beautiful to be a part of.
It was kind of cool to go into those gigs because she, they were road dogs and they'd justdone so much cheering for so many years.

(49:31):
And that was quite foreign to me and just like learning about that.
And they weren't, they're not really session players.
They're more just, it's like a band band.
That was really cool to just like do a few gigs with them and sort of see what thatlifestyle is like.
It was really beautiful, incredible songwriter and performer.

(49:51):
I don't know.
Can you remind me of anybody?
No, that's good.
Yeah.
Look, I mean, well, some of the ones that I have, I mean, I have listed, I think you'vecovered off some really great ones, but I mean, there's Montaigne, there's Casey Donovan,
Matt Keegan, Sandy Evans.
you've mentioned Lucy Clifford, Genevieve Chadwick, Lyre Birdland.
Yeah.
I guess Matt Keegan for me has, yeah, so Matt Keegan is somebody that I looked up to froma really early age when I started learning jazz at Willingham Conservatorium and he would

(50:19):
come down and perform for us and it was always like, well, Matt Keegan Trio.
And I was like, wow, this guy is such an innovator um on obviously an incredible saxplayer, but just an innovator as a composer and was highly revered by our
and obviously a lot of Australian, I guess, audiences and musicians.

(50:40):
then Matt's been great for me because he produced my first album and that essentially madeit possible for us to actually finish the album.
That album consists of a lot of quite densely composed tracks and through composed stuff.
it was a lot of work and we did that at Free Energy Device Studios in Sydney and Matt...

(51:04):
I think he just made it possible for us to actually get through all of the material andwould kind of say, yeah, that works, this didn't work.
And just having him on that was really lovely.
And I think maybe he responded to that by then getting me to do a tour with, yeah, just athrough-composed piece of music he'd written and that band, I think it was consisted of...

(51:25):
Yeah, Cam and Dion bass and Miles Thomas on drums, very nice.
Surat on violin.
And, it was so beautiful.
And that just as a, as a group, um, I was.
Yeah.
Really honored to be involved and I was able to, I guess, learn a lot about how toincorporate the synthesizer and piano stuff into, um, yeah, through.

(51:53):
He's through composed compositions and um I guess, yeah, it was just kind of another biglearning curve and something that I never expected to be asked to do.
And then I did some other gigs with Matt with his quartet last year and he just producedmy recent album.

(52:17):
Yeah, at ABC.
So.
It's been a really nice thing with Matt over the years.
We've had a really cool relationship where I think he's been able to be really real withme and show me a lot of stuff and maybe helped me develop in different ways.
also I, so I composed for a video game and wrote the score for a video game, which wassupposed to be released with, not with Rockstar, but with video games, Deluxe in Sydney.

(52:45):
And yeah, the guy that
asked me to do it.
He's the creator of L.A.
Noire, which is quite a, yeah, I guess, recognized game.
he, yeah, it's a psychological thriller and he asked me to compose jazz for it.
So I ended up composing for like quite a large ensemble with horns and strings and rhythmsection.

(53:09):
And we did a bunch of days in the studio and that's come, the actual album is coming outthis year and Matt
was there for that too.
So he was kind of like, I finished all the scores and then I'd take it to him and be like,Hey, any advice on how to fix this up and make it more clear for the band.
And then just in the actual studio, having a right hand, you know, like a wingman, likehaving somebody to have to, guess, verbalize things or take control of the horns if I'm

(53:37):
taking control of the rhythm section or whatever.
that was, yeah, it's been a really, it's been a fruitful relationship for me.
And it's nice that
Yeah, it's with somebody that I really looked up to when I was younger.
I think we just kind of get it.
Yeah.
yeah.
Yeah, yeah, no worries.

(53:58):
Everything's related.
And so we'll move on to our last few standard questions, Fray.
So the first one is tagging a keyboard player.
And you've already mentioned so many great ones, but we'd like to ask each guest to tag akeyboard player that they would like to hear more about their story.
Yeah, so a keyboard player and pianist that I've looked up to since I was young is DannyPlyner in Sydney.

(54:19):
I don't know if you've heard of him, but he's probably my favorite pianist in Australia.
um And yeah, one of my favorite worldwide pianists.
So such a unique voice and he, you'll be able to catch him almost every night of the week,like a lazy bones or gigging somewhere.
And I guess he...

(54:39):
I he has this really incredible ability to fuse sort of, guess, more like Latin,traditional Latin styles and really almost like classical avant-garde styles with jazz and
hip hop and just such an incredible natural player.
And I think any band that he's a part of is just enhanced so much.

(55:01):
So I've, I've had to sub for him a bunch and just learning what he.
what he's like laid down on the tracks and recordings or live gigs and just like, whoa,like, how do you think of this?
So I mean, I got, know him from when I was really little because he is in my brother'sband, Strides, but then I've, yeah, I've just seen him play so many times.

(55:22):
And I think maybe parts of my playing would probably come from what I've learned from him.
Great pick.
Yeah.
No, we'll definitely be checking him out.
m
a beast, like a beast musician.
somebody that's just, it's hard to explain, but it just, it just like, it will just bebetter than you ever expected.

(55:43):
Yeah.
When you go in here and play.
And he's like the real deal because he's gigging like every night, you know?
And doing a lot of studio work, production work.
It's yeah.
Incredible.
Yeah.
So Danny Pleiner.
Danny Plyner noted, thank you.
No worries.
And our second last question, the dreaded Desert Island disc question.
So five albums that float your boat at the moment.
I albums that float my boat at the moment.

(56:04):
So one album that I spent a lot of time rinsing and repeating last year was this trioalbum with Dylan Day, Sam Wilkes and Craig Weinrip, like LA based players.
And they, I think they recorded it some really beautiful mountains, snowy location.
um I actually had the opportunity to hang out with Dylan Day quite a bit.

(56:30):
while I was in LA and I just met him by chance and I was like, my God, your album is likeone of my favorite albums of all time right now.
And he was like, thank you, miss.
Thank you, miss.
He's like, you know, we went to school together.
And I was like, I didn't realize that.
It's like, yeah, for like a semester.
And then I dropped out and then I was homeless for like five years.
And anyway, he's on like every, he's, he's like a big deal, but very, I don't know, maybejust very sensitive dude, like really sensitive ears.

(56:56):
I think he got rid of all of his guitars and he just has an acoustic guitar now.
if you look it up, does, I think, incredible guitarist, Dylan Day.
So that trio album is just stunning to me.
The way it's very sparse, there's a lot of space and just groove and slow.

(57:20):
I don't know, I just melt into it.
So that one is a big thing.
No piano on that.
Yeah, I guess I also listened to a lot of Hania Rani, a Polish pianist.
She's probably inspired me the most as far as like, I guess, music that's inspired mycurrent approach and probably the album that I've just done.

(57:42):
So she, yeah, she does a lot of kind of solo piano work where she'll be using multiplepianos at once and improvising and doing really interesting prepared piano stuff and
Now she's, yeah, she sings on a lot of stuff now and it's kind of taken like more of a popturn recently, but she's, she's incredible.
And she'll do some band stuff too.

(58:03):
Yeah.
She tours a lot.
She's become a really big deal.
She's kind of with like Gondwana Records, anything on Gondwana Records.
I'm like, I love this.
So yeah, she's really worth checking out.
Fergus McCready, I've been checking out quite a bit.
He's like a Scottish pianist, quite young.
I think he's like 27 or something.
And yeah, it's just kind of almost.

(58:24):
Yeah, developed these really folkloric melodies.
I saw him play at South by Southwest when I was there a couple of years ago, playing withsomebody and he was just playing in this jazz bar with his trio.
And I was like, man, this guy's a mofo.
And then, yeah, I've just checked out a lot of his stuff.
It's just this really beautiful fusion of improvised jazz piano with these like reallyfolky sounds.

(58:46):
And I just think it's so beautiful and it's so representative of like, I guess his rootsand like the environment that he's in.
And it's all about nature.
And I just, I don't know.
just froth on that.
so these aren't actual albums, are they?
I'm just listing artists.
No, that's okay.
If you trust me, I'll find one to pick from their discography if you're happy with that.

(59:07):
Yeah, well, Honey is one would be Esger, it's E-S-J-A.
Right.
And then Fergus's, my favorite Fergus album is Forest Floor.
And then the Sam Wilkes, Dylan Day album, Craig Wine Rib album, that's just their names.
So it doesn't have an album title.
No worries.

(59:28):
Um, an album I always return to is Barney McCall's Mother of Dreams and Secrets, which Iguess has like really inspired a lot of my compositions.
He just, yeah, really fuses, I guess, like Cuban sort of styles with jazz arrangements forlarger ensembles with horns.

(59:49):
And it's such a dope album and it just grooves and he's playing.
It's ridiculous.
Yeah, that's one of my favorite albums of all time.
And I.
I return to that.
Also, what's another album?
There's like a live Yoshi's album, Mulgrew Miller album, Live at Yoshi's, volume one.
oh Yeah, that's another one I listen to a lot.

(01:00:14):
Mulgrew Miller for me is like the man.
He's just somebody that, I guess, obviously a beast, yeah, jazz pianist, but like was sucha beautiful educator and just had this
pocket, but also just was able to play circles around bebop styles.
just, I don't know, it just seemed to me like that's the OG almost, more than anybody.

(01:00:41):
Yeah, Mulgrew is just the one for me.
um I've transcribed him a lot.
Not that I can do what his hands do, because I'm pretty sure one of his hands is the sizeof three of my hands maybe.
Yeah, yeah.
But yeah, I've transcribed him a lot and learned a lot of, you know, lines and licks andvocabulary from him.

(01:01:03):
So that's a really beautiful album.
Jarret's, is that five or four?
Yeah, you've done five, but I'll give you a six.
It's quite often to have six.
Also, I could have miscounted.
So add it in either way.
Okay, I guess, yeah, one of my favorite albums of all time is the Keith Jarrett, Cologne,Cone, Cologne.

(01:01:24):
Yeah.
concerts, it's just absurd.
Like I actually don't think it's- It is.
I don't think that that's real.
Like I still listen to that and think this, it's just like so moving.
And I think I cry every single time.
Yeah, it's amazing.
It's just absurd to me.
And the fact that he was in such pain and that the piano was so shit and all of thesethings that I think, yeah, when you're on the road, it's like your worst nightmare, you

(01:01:52):
know?
Like you can't imagine being put in that scenario and then that's what came out.
Like I just, I just can't believe that that's real.
I'm still just blown away.
I guess what happens with our ears every time we listen to an album is it's different.
And you've developed as a musician or you've been listening to this and it's kind ofchanged the way you perceive it.
So that one for me is just evolve, continuously evolving.

(01:02:16):
Yeah, I just think I get more and more out of it each time I hear it.
think Matt McMahon.
Yes.
And yeah, Matt McMahon's doing um a tribute to that or something in Sydney.
I think it's sold out, but.
Yeah.
man, I should have listed Matt McMahon because he's one of my favorite pianists ever.

(01:02:37):
he's, yeah, Sydney pianist and I've rinsed and yeah, repeated his albums a lot too.
But anyway.
That's good.
There's only so many picks.
But no, thank you.
really appreciate it.
totally original picks there, which is great.
Yeah.
Our very last question for you is what we call a quick fire 10.
So 10 short and sharp answers to 10 short and sharp questions.

(01:02:59):
So, and you've already talked about your amazing upbringing with an eclectic amount ofmusic.
Do you recall the first album you heard that really had an impact on you?
Yeah, I guess the first album I ever heard that had a huge impact on me was BeethovenLives Upstairs.
And that was like a kid's album that I listened to in the car every day.
So yeah.
Yep, the one you were doomed to a life of music.
That's the way it should be.

(01:03:19):
Most important pre-gig ritual.
So it doesn't matter the gig, but is there something you'd like to do before you go onstage to feel settled?
Yeah.
So that used to be to drink alcohol.
Um, but now it's, I'm starting to do breathing exercises and that seems to help settle meto some extent.
Um, it last very long, but I'm trying to emulate.

(01:03:41):
I'm trying to incorporate that into my practice and then also incorporate it on stage.
And I think, yeah, um, for, you know, recording the album last week, was probably like inthe middle of all these songs, which just sounded a little bit funny, but, yeah.
That's good.
No good good one.
It's better than a shot.
That's for sure If you hadn't been a musician, what do you think your career choice wouldhave been?

(01:04:03):
I never had a specific career choice growing up, but I have studied different thingsthrough the years and I probably be a psychologist.
think I am.
I studied psychology during COVID.
yeah, I'd probably go with that because that's like a big thing to me.
I like to investigate a lot about psychology.

(01:04:24):
yeah.
Great, great.
Now I think I know the answer and I think we can nearly skip over this one.
Transpose button or adjust on the fly?
I can't imagine you're a transpose button person.
Yeah, well, I actually didn't know about the transpose button until a really disastrousgig.
It was actually at the house of the Lime Cordial boys.

(01:04:46):
I think um it was like a really, really hot day and it was like 40 degrees.
We were doing this thing for vodka or something.
And I was playing with this artist called Iluca and then Lime Cordial were playing and weall hanging out and then we had to get on the stage.
We couldn't even stand on stage, which was so hot.
then our gear was all melting down and.

(01:05:06):
Um, yeah, the laptop for the tracks wasn't working.
Anyway, I had like a blanket over my keyboard and the very first track I picked theblanket off so that could actually touch the keyboard and stop turning off.
And, guess the transpose button had been touched and started the track.
I was like, Whoa, what is that?
I couldn't really hear it properly because the inners weren't working and yeah, we had torestart the tune all over again.

(01:05:30):
So, um, and then there is, there was one track with the KD Nunu N2A where I had to use thetranspose button.
um, one time, which was, yeah.
But, so yeah, I'm, I'm all about the trans.
Generally no, but you can use it.
Yeah.
Favourite gig you've ever done, if that's possible.
my favorite gig I've ever done or series of gigs or a tour was with Elephant Tracks.

(01:05:55):
They're like a hip hop label in Sydney.
And we did a tour last year for their 25th anniversary.
And I don't think I've ever been a part of something so heartwarming and beautiful in mylife.
Like that was incredible.
Yeah.
And I felt so, so respected and so able to just be myself.

(01:06:16):
Yeah.
Excellent.
Favorite city you've ever played.
Weird because I've played in, yeah, I mean, I've played in the States and the variouscities, but I think my favourite city to play in is Melbourne.
Yeah.
I think that, yeah, there's just something really, it just feels natural there.
It feels like people really respect art and music and yeah, I just being there.

(01:06:42):
I just love being around it.
Yeah.
So probably.
Exactly.
Favorite song you've played at a gig in the last year?
Shit, that is hard.
Yeah, probably one of my tunes, to be honest.
Yeah.
There's this tune called Blissing that I just really love performing with my band and it'sdifferent every time and I just love that feeling because I think it's so personal.

(01:07:05):
Yeah, so...
um
That's great.
Now one thing you'd like to see invented that would make your life as a keyboard playereasier.
just a really light rig that feels good, sounds good, know, like obviously.
my goodness.
Can you imagine?
It just make my back so much less sore.

(01:07:25):
Yes.
I've got good news though, Freya, it gets worse as you get older.
Yeah, no, I'm hearing you.
My favourite music documentary at the moment is um Waiting for My Real Life.

(01:07:49):
It's about Colin Hay and I've watched it, yeah, probably three times in the last fewweeks.
Yeah, he's the best.
I've been listening to so much Colin Hay lately.
Yeah.
I'm really excited.
Yeah, I'm going to meet him actually next week, which I'm pretty ecstatic about.

(01:08:09):
I think, I mean, I would
to say the word icon is bandied around often, it's deservedly applied to him.
He's an icon.
He is an icon.
He is just obviously an incredible musician, but a uh beautiful person.
And I think there's so much to learn from people like that.
And he's still touring a lot and he's what 72 or something and just had such aninteresting journey.

(01:08:36):
It's just stunning.
And last but not least, Freya, your favourite non-musical activity or hobby, actually Ithink you've already alluded to it as far as what keeps you sane outside of music.
I think I know this answer.
Yes.
Yeah, obviously surfing, I have been doing that a lot the last few years and it's nice toget good at something or better at something that's outside of music and every time I get

(01:08:59):
out of the surf, all of the stuff melts away and I don't worry about who I am or what I'mdoing and what I should be doing and why I'm not here and there, you know.
So I think it's a nice compliment to this really odd journey as a musician and as aprofessional musician.
And I think you're surfing waves in the music field as well.

(01:09:22):
And I don't think you're about to get dumped in a wave in the near future.
I'm hopeless at surfing analogies because I don't surf, but you know what I mean.
So, I mean, it's been an absolute pleasure speaking with you, Freya.
Look, we're excited to see what's yet to come, let alone the amazing career you've had todate.
And yeah, look, I'm definitely looking forward to checking you out at a gig in the nearfuture, but can't thank you enough for joining us.

(01:09:44):
I'd love to see you at a gig and yeah, I'm so honored to be involved in this.
I think it's a really beautiful project you have going on and yeah, I'm going to dive intoall of the other podcasts.
thanks for having Larry.

(01:10:07):
There we have it.
Gee, it was great speaking with Freya on her career and some of the collaborations she'sdone.
I hope you enjoyed it as well.
Whether you're an Australian listener that understands, you know, working with Ian Mossthrough to the amazing collaborations she's done in the US here and elsewhere, there's
lots to digest for that one.
And we can't thank Freya enough for her time.
I'm very excited to see what the next 10, 20, 30 years will bring for her.

(01:10:32):
And I never thought, aside from myself in the city I live in, someone else would have
hung out, so to speak, and she did it in a much more impressive way with Larry Goldings.
uh As you know, we love Larry here on the show and he was very generous with his time.
If you haven't checked out that interview with Larry, please do so.
Well and truly worth it.
So again, thank you for listening.
A quick shout out to our Gold and Silver sponsors, the wonderful Tammy Katcher fromTammy's Musical Studio.

(01:10:57):
Thank you, Tammy, as always for your support.
Dave Bryce and the team from the musicplayer.com forums.
Can't thank you enough.
for your support and such a great place to hang out and talk keyboards and performance.
The excellent mic from Midnight Mastering, if you'd like having quality mixes and mastersdone for your own work, definitely consider mic great quality at a decent price at

(01:11:20):
midnightmastering.com.
And last but definitely not least, the brilliant Dewey Evans from the Sunnylander Wales.
Thank you Dewey for your ongoing support.
It's hugely appreciated.
So again, thank you to all of you out there and we'll be back in a week or two and untilthen keep on playing.