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THE ZHEN OF BECKY
In a style that is loosely folk, the self-titled EP
combines elements of acoustic and electronic
that dances between playful and cutesy charm to
darker, more brooding emotions.
"I'm not planning on getting proper distribution
for this one yet," she says, although she has been
making herself known to the main players around
town. "I'm going overseas [next year], so I don't
know when I'll be around to promote it."
So is Freeman heading abroad as some kind of
cultural cringe involving the sort of disdain for the
local market a lot of artists have?
"It's always been a part of the plan, seeing
family and travelling, trying to do gigs, and also
some gigs with Jamie Lloyd. I want to experience
heaps of different musical adventures and come
back with perspective. I have been in Sydney
for a while and I want to see what's happening
everywhere, maybe find some cool instruments to
use. I want to take it all in."
Hinting at further collaborations with the Future
Classic wunderkind, Freeman says, "We're going
to try and do an EP over summer." However the
trip overseas is not to develop their own co-writes,
they'll just happen to be together.
"I want to write my album overseas and come
home and properly record it here."
Recorded and produced by Steve Body at
Limestone Studios and mastered by Ben Feggans
at Sonomax, the collaborative effort in the new
EP is obvious.
"I met Steve through Ben Feggans (who masters
a lot of Future Classic stuff), who we met through
Jamie. Knowing Ben's taste in music, he said
"This guy will love your stuff" and for the first
time I was thinking about putting some money
in to music, so I was like, "Yeah". So I met
Steve, got to hang out and [we] got to know each
other quickly, and got totally on the same wave
length."
Saving up some coin, Freeman worked with
Body for three months in a process that involved
peeling back the layers in a manner similar to
collage.
"The songs developed really naturally and we
wanted to keep an acoustic organic vibe – well,
at least, I did," she says. "We put everything in
to it and then took everything out of it then would
go 'What did we miss?' and picked out sounds
we both liked. We'd then have samples of bass
lines, or vibraphones to add in or take out – a bit
like a picture."
Forming somewhat of a musical kinship, Body
and Freeman both describe sounds similarly and
he seemed to immediately have a handle on the
Sui Zhen style and what was going to be achieved
on this first effort.
"We both describe sounds the same way like 'We
need a big sound here – something spacey and
dubby'," she exclaims excitedly. "The first thing
Body said was 'Yeah that's cute', but I prefer cute
but edgy. I like a lot of Icelandic music and a lot
of ambient electronica. I like a lot of folk music. I
like to combine the cute and dark element."
And that's exactly what they did. With a musical
background that involves some 'proper' training
on trumpet, Freeman's style is influenced by
the classic songwriting of Crosby, Stills and
Nash, Joni Mitchell or Carol King through to
contemporary influences Sigur Rós, Radiohead
and Sugarcubes.
Suggesting "melody is my thing," Freeman knows
where her strengths lie, something which is not
so much in the beats or soundscapes. She also
doesn't mind a little help from her friends when
it comes to being exposed to new music.
"I'm really out of the loop with everything, I like
it that way. I rely on people in the loop to share
the good new stuff with me."
And is her stage name a fancy persona? An alter
ego?
"It's my middle name," she reveals. "It's become
a persona, people start calling me Sui, but it's
just my middle name."
However, when one meets the charismatic and
chirpy Freeman, you'll know that who she is in
conversation is quite a bit more bubbly than the
EP's darker moments.
The future is looking good with a string of
exciting gigs coming up that will test her wits as
a performer.
"I'm playing at Adelaide Fringe Festival in
October, doing a solo thing with a performance
aspect involving wearing a paper dress like on the
EP cover and later playing at the Factory Theatre
with many guests and all of the production."
With the exciting Jamie Lloyd collaborations not
seeing the light of day 'til early to mid next year,
catch Sui Zhen doing her own thing around the
traps for the rest of the year. Her playful nature as
a songwriter, combined with her masterful sonic
collaborators will make her a force to be reckoned
with in a fruitful scene that will see her join her
local peers like Architecture in Helsinki in the
years to come.
SUI ZHEN IS 21 YEAR-OLD SYDNEY BASED SINGER/SONGWRITER BECKY FREEMAN,
WHOSE DEBUT EP HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED INDEPENDENTLY, AVAILABLE AT
GIGS AND THROUGH CD BABY. 3D'S HUWSTON FOUND OUT WHY YOU SHOULD
JUMP ON HER BANDWAGON BEFORE IT GETS TOO CROWDED.
SUI ZHEN'S EP IS THE RESULT OF SOME
SERIOUS DIY WORK. WANNA KNOW WHAT
IT TAKES TO GET YOUR RECORD OUT? READ
ON KIDDIES…
- Gig around town solidly for five years or so.
Anywhere and everywhere.
- Play solo, acoustic, and with a band whenever
possible.
- Raise the money to pay for an engineer and
producer and the album pressing.
- Do the artwork yourself.
- Build a strong artist network of friends.
- Have an abundance of natural talent!
WHO: Sui Zhen
WHAT: Self-titled EP out on CD Baby / headlines
the Factory Theatre
WHEN: Out now / Saturday 13 October
MORE: myspace.com/suizhenmusic
Article by HUWSTON