Johannesburg, Friday, 11 February 2022 – Rising genre-bending, singer and songwriter, FRYA, bares all with her debut album, Balance, out today.
The highly anticipated debut release from the rising star making an immense imprint in the global music arena, was preceded with five of her songs being featured on Season 2 of Netflix’s second African original hit series Blood & Water, four of which are from her debut offering; a monumental feat for a new artist who was yet to release a full body of work and a true testament to FRYA’s star power and talent.
The 11-track album speaks to both music and metaphor. Sonically, the project covers a broad range of genres from heart-wrenching ballads (Changes) to club bangers (BDE, Fire Fire) and Afro bops (Calculate). Metaphorically and visually, Balance speaks to mastering the masculine and feminine, the strong and the soft, the sexy and the vulnerable.
“The album is a perfect balance of who I am: tough, sassy, soft, bold, vulnerable… and the music expresses that. All my different sides working together to create a balance,” shares FRYA.
You can now stream or download FRYA’s debut album, Balance, here: https://africori.to/fryabalance.oyd
FRYA ushers in her debut album with lead single, Changes, and shares: “Changes is a song that’s very dear to my heart because it was inspired by my mother, Juliet. I wanted a song that expressed my pain… honestly, but also expressed a realisation that loss of any kind is simply love persevering. When my album pre-order went live in September, I received so many DM’s on Instagram from people in different parts of the world. I connected with people who had experienced loss during the pandemic and even before that. It’s humbling to know that I’m helping other people feel and release emotion the same way the song helped me. It also made me realise how powerful my intention was when I wrote the song.”
We got to chat to Frya and this is how it went:
Tell us about the thought process of writing your album?
The thought process for the album was simply for me to tell my truth and give people perspective into a young African women’s journey. I found my voice, my freedom and my truth and you can hear through the music. My lyrics are very unapologetic and bold. What made it even more fun was how different genres require a different writing style, different approach and different delivery. I allowed myself to play around and just have fun and at the end of the process I became aware of my versatility and that’s one of the the things that set me apart.
Breakdown changes for us?
Changes is a song that’s very dear to my heart because it was inspired by mother, Juliet. I wanted a song that expressed my grief honestly, but also expressed a realization that loss of any kind is simply love persevering. When I put out the record in September I received so many DM’s on Instagram from people in different parts of the world. I connected with people who had experienced loss during the pandemic and even before that. It’s humbling to know that I’m helping other people feel, and release emotion the same way the song helped me.
It also made me realize how powerful my intention was when I wrote the song. But more than anything anyone who has ever loved can relate to loving deeply and having things change that are beyond your control. And I want to help people connect with themselves and their feelings. I hope it shows people that pain/loss can turn you into the strongest, bravest version of yourself.
What lessons have you learned during writing this album?
I learnt that my voice mattered, what I had to say matters and writing is therapeutic for me. I realized that it’s part of my healing process. Everything is essentially a feeling, whether good or bad and once I allowed myself to sit in the emotion, to feel it, writing it down was me letting it go. So everything you hear on the album is processed emotion.
This album has several genre, which genre would you say was the best genre for you to record in?
To be honest all of them because it’s all still me telling my stories just through different sound scapes. Afrobeats, R&B, Soul, Reggae and Dancehall bring out different tones, different feelings and aspects of who I am as a person and artist. No one is one thing and music should be the same, I don’t listen to just one soundscape and my album is a reflection of that. When I’m in studio it’s not about the genre, or what people might like. It’s purely just about honestly expressing myself.
What can you expect from you for the rest of 2022?
I really want to connect with people through this album so more live experiences, more movie and television music. You can expect collaboration with different artists from different parts of the world.
Make sure to connect online with the rising star for more on her phenomenal journey and stream or download her debut album, Balance, today – https://africori.to/fryabalance.oyd
Connect with Frya:
Facebook: @fryamusic
Twitter: @F_R_Y_A
Instagram: @fryamusic
