Following the success of her single ‘Lost Without You’,which has now surpassed 16 million streams,Freya Ridings today shares her new single ‘Ultraviolet’ on Good Soldier Records via AWAL Recordings, which was mixed by Tom Elmhirst (Amy Winehouse/David Bowie/Frank Ocean/Lorde). Freya also announces a 12-date headline UK tour in October, including London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empireon 18th October,cementing Freya as thename to watch this year.
‘Ultraviolet’marks a striking evolution in Freya Ridings’ sound after the stripped-back style of past favourites ‘Lost Without You’ and ‘Blackout’. While Freya’s rich vocal tone exudes emotion, the production grows in intensity as the simple piano accompaniment of the introduction explodes into a climatic crescendo of sound. The result is a track, which underlines Freya’s credentials as a songwriter while also exploring a darker, more mature sound.
‘Ultraviolet is about parts of ourselves we believe we have to hide – like a diary written in secret ink. When those secrets are not only seen but also loved by someone who sees the light and darkness in you, it’s the most profound and beautiful thing’ explains Freya.
Since the release of singles ‘Lost Without You’, ‘Blackout’and her spine-tingling cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s classic ‘Maps’, Freya’s monthly listeners on Spotify have catapulted to over a million. The tracks have received supportfrom European radio from BBC Radio 1, Radio X, 40PP in Spain to NDR2 in Germany, P3 in Norway, Today FM in Ireland and many more.
Fresh from touring the US with Ella Vos and the UK with Ray LaMontagne, Freya now prepares for a summer of festivals including Barn on The Farm, Montreux Jazz Festival, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. Herever growing livefollowing around the world is further marked by the announcement of another UK headline tour in October.
Contending with being incredibly shy and feeling isolated at school, Freya found her extraordinary, vibrato-rich, pin-drop voice when she was in just Year 7 at school when she was invited to perform at an open-mic night. Freya explains, ‘I sang quite low for a little girl, I did this whole raspy thing. Suddenly, though, I’d found my own way. To this day, I still can’t believe I got up there. The whole room went crazy. And that was the moment where I thought: ‘Maybe I can take this thing that’s my own private thing, that I’ve done on my own, and actually share it with other people.’
But whether it is live, sitting at the piano, or strumming her guitar, Freya has distilled a short lifetime of uncertainty, and transformed it into songs of alchemical incandescence, magicked into greatness by one of the most powerful voices in a generation.
The full list of live dates are:
June
23rd Bushstock Festival, UK
July
7th Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland
8th Barn on the Farm Festival, UK
August
5th Lollapalooza, Chicago USA
8th AAA Convention, USA
11th Outsidelands, USA – Panhandle Stage
September
19th Reeperbahn festival, Germany
October
14th Austin City Limits, USA
18th London Shepherds Bush Empire
19th Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
20th The Globe, Cardiff
22nd St Luke’s, Glasgow
23rd LimeLight 2, Belfast
24th Tivoli Theatre, Dublin
26th Oxford Academy 2, Oxford
27th Dance House, Manchester
28th The Wardrobe, Leeds
29th o2 Institute 3, Birmingham
31st The Haunt, Brighton
November
1st Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
20th Joe’s Pub, New York, USA
23rd The Troubadour, LA, USA