Freya Josephine Hollick - Feral Fusion (2018)

Feral Fusion is the new record from Freya Josephine Hollick, a fusion of all things feral, sexy and sweet. A cosmic step away from her previous releases, Feral Fusion explores latin rhythms and wild electric instruments, inspired by the likes of Marc Ribot, Betty Davis and Ry Cooder. A blending of Country, Appalachia, Soul, Funk, Jazz, Rock, Blues and easy listening makes this exquisite album unlike anything else to touch the racks of record stores lately.

Hollick began recording Feral Fusion in September of 2017 at Union Street Studios in Brunswick West with her usual team of producers, Roger Bergodaz and Shane Reilly. The ideas for the record quickly swayed from straight up classic country to the wonky, bent and wild, inviting a cast of wonderful musicians to add their bits and pieces, to all the tracks penned by Hollick, over months of sporadic sessions. Hollick’s aim with this record was to make something entirely her own, something influenced but from multiple places, something coherent that drew on sounds from many different decades and styles.

The album undulates throughout, from tracks like 'The Earthly By and By', a gentle nod to the likes of Dolly Parton and Chet Atkins featuring stunning guitar work by Sam Lemann and Appalachian picking by Hollick herself, to the funk-country jam that is 'Like A Dog Upon A Bone' with a tight beat set by Oscar Henfrey and the Waylon-esque crunchy guitar work of Thomas Brooks dancing with the exceptional sound of Jacob McGuffie’s Telecaster, edging on the brink of a boil over into the territory of Betty Davis or Ann Peebles.

Roger Bergodaz (Engineer, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Bass, Synths)
Shane Reilly (Producer, Arranger, Orchestration, Pedal Steel, Baritone Guitar, Rhodes)
Thomas Brooks (Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, Nylon String, Baritone Guitar, Piano)
Oscar Henfrey (Drums)
Sam Lemann (Acoustic Guitar)
Jacob McGuffie (Electric Guitar, Nylon String)
Ben Franz (Double Bass)
Esther Henderson (Fiddle)
Freya Josephine Hollick (Electric Guitar, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Freya Josephine Hollick - Mister One Time
02. Freya Josephine Hollick - The Devil You Know
03. Freya Josephine Hollick - On a Mission to Kill All the Hatred in Man
04. Freya Josephine Hollick - Earthly by and By
05. Freya Josephine Hollick - Jesus Hates It When You Smoke
06. Freya Josephine Hollick - Love Lingers On
07. Freya Josephine Hollick - My Heart Can’t Find the Words My Lips Should Say
08. Freya Josephine Hollick - Breakfast of Small-Town Champions
09. Freya Josephine Hollick - Vapour of a Man
10. Freya Josephine Hollick - Like a Dog Upon a Bone
11. Freya Josephine Hollick - Smoke in the Barroom