Frayd

Ottawa-based electronic musician Frayd released his debut album Mountain online last week, and you can listen and download it for free on Soundcloud. “Frayd” is the stage name chosen by 17 year-old Gabe Roberge, a senior at Canterbury High School.
The album ranges from slow, dreamy, ambient tracks to up-tempo dance songs that would make a great soundtrack for any party. “Leave Here Now” was the first single released ahead of the album, and it’s the slowest song of them all, but Roberge said it’s a good starter for someone to get an idea of his music.

“I’ll have slow songs and I’ll have “dance-y” songs, but I feel like overall, no matter if it has a different sound, they’re all very emotionally based,” he said. “I think that my overall goal is to put my emotions into the music and make people maybe feel those emotions or feel other emotions because of that.”
Roberge is in the drama program at Canterbury High School, where students pick an arts program to specialize in. He said the school has been a really supportive environment for his music career, because there’s a lot of collaboration that goes on between students in the different programs.
“It’s amazing collaborating, because I can get amazingly talented musicians to help out with different tracks, and I can get people in the visual program to help out with the artwork,” he explained. Three of the songs from Mountain feature collaborations with vocalists.
Roberge said he took an interest in electronic music four years ago, and since then he’s been influenced by artists such as Flume, the xx, and Canadian electronic music producer Ryan Hemsworth – he’ll even be opening a show for Hemsworth later this month.
For the last two years, Roberge has been going out and booking his own shows, playing wherever he can around Ottawa. At only 17, he’s aware that he doesn’t have as much experience as older musicians, but he said he’s found the music community in Ottawa really supportive. The biggest challenge right now is simply being too young to play shows in clubs – that’ll be the next step when he turns 19.
As for other young musicians who want to get out there but aren’t sure where to start, Roberge said it comes to just putting in the hard work.
“At this age, before you get big, you’re not going to have people doing this for you, you need to go and… discover this world by yourself,” he said.
“You have to teach yourself about the whole business side of it and the performance side of it. Just go out and find venues, book shows, find friends that make music too or are involved in music somehow, and maybe play shows with them or be collaborators… be open to different influences.”
Currently, Roberge is working as a programming assistant for Ottawa Bluesfest and also helping to develop new in-school programs for their Blues in the School music education program. He’ll be going to different schools around Ottawa with them and running the electronic music section of the program.
Looking ahead, Roberge is planning to tour outside of Ottawa next summer and play shows in Toronto and Montreal. Next year is sure to bring lots of big changes – for one thing, he’ll be graduating high school.
“I think for sure it’s going to push me a lot more to do a lot more, because I’ve always had this huge drive to keep going and doing bigger things, but I feel like actually needing to do those things is going to change what I do,” he said.
“It becomes more of a job, and that’s fine, you know, I want it to be a job. That’s what I want to do.”
Frayd will be opening for Ryan Hemsworth at Ritual Nightclub on December 26. Event + ticket info can be found here. Check out his Facebook page for more updates about shows. - Apt613

Even though he’s only 17 years old, Ottawa-based DJ and electronic music producer Frayd is already making quite a name for himself.
Having grown up in a musical family, his precocious talent started to manifest itself in the fall of 2013, when he began making electronic music in his bedroom under the name Chil Pollins.
He then changed his stage name to Frayd in 2014 and subsequently released three EPs under that moniker. (Check out his Soundcloud page to listen to some samples of his tracks).
The teenage artist now brings his electronic sounds to Bluesfest when he performs on the Canadian Stage on Saturday, July 18 at 5:45 pm.
“Playing Bluesfest will definitely be the pivotal moment in this project,” says Frayd in an email interview. ”It will be the biggest and most important show so far.”
This is the first time that the up-and-coming artist will be playing Bluesfest, and when asked what he has in store for his show he said that festival goers can expect something special.
“Being my biggest show to date means the audience can expect huge things,” he tells Apartment613. ”I don’t want to give away too much but I can say two things: all original, mostly unreleased.”
As for what he plans to do in the coming months, the hope is to really launch his career forward in the near future.
“In a perfect world the next year will be the turning point for my music career.” says Frayd. ”I am planning huge things to make this year monumental. I am also working on projects with various people right now that will definitely help in this journey.”
Frayd plays Bluesfest on Saturday, July 18 at 5:45 pm on the Canadian Stage. For ticket information you can go to the online Bluesfest ticket site. - Apt613

Frayd at Pressed, Saturday at 8 p.m.

Frayd, a.k.a. Gabe Roberge, plays Pressed Saturday night. (Facebook)
There's more young local talent to be found this weekend in the form of Gabe Roberge, who has already made a name for himself as a magician performing tricks at special events and festivals around town.
Don't expect him to pull any rabbits out of his hat on Saturday night, though — even if it is Easter weekend. Instead, Gabe will be making auditory magic by way of his solo musical project, Frayd.

In recent months, he's released a torrent of electronic creations, one after the other. They show Frayd's versatility, from subtle ambient grooves to flat-out bangers like Keeping You Around, featuring samples from a 1984 dance track by the group Midway. With its powerful synth and steamy vocals, the song deserves to reach anthem-status on local dancefloors.

You can catch Frayd performing that track, along with brand new ones from his spring EP, at Pressed. 8 p.m., $5. - CBC

SA: How did you first get your start in this style of music?
GR: Growing up I was always surrounded by very atmospheric, pretty, and worldly music because that’s what my parents listened to. Being exposed to this type of music fully shaped what my sound is today and why I make the music that I make.

SA: What bands or musicians would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound?
GR: I like to take inspiration from anything I listen to and I listen to the most eclectic assortment of music. That can easily explain my strange style. Some key influences though would be Flume and Ryan Hemsworth.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been your biggest success?
GR: I have so many things I’m grateful for in my career so far, but the most exciting experience I’ve had would have to be either opening for Ryan Hemsworth In December or playing Ottawa Bluesfest last summer! That being said there are constantly things I’m excited for so I can’t wait for this coming year!

SA: SA: On the other hand, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it?
GR: I believe that the hardest thing as a musician is not making the “hot” music trend everyone is following. This makes it significantly more difficult to get noticed, although I am still incredibly grateful for the support I have been getting and all the fans that have made this project possible!

SA: How do you approach the song-writing process?
GR: I think the reason none of my music is very genre specific is because I can never seem to follow the same process in making one song to the next. Sometimes I will just find a sample and shape the song around that but I also occasionally start with just a drum beat or a melody.

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene?
GR: The Ottawa music scene is really cool. It isn’t like the Montreal scene, the Toronto scene, or any other city really. It is its own thing and has so many special things about it! I also find it so interesting that there are specific sounds to the Ottawa scene that, in my opinion at least, are very prominent in most music projects in Ottawa.

SA: If you had to choose your favourite moment off your latest release, Mountain, what would it be, and why?
GR: I don’t know if I can pick one single moment off the album that I love, but for me, the most important thing about the album is the story behind each song. I wrote most of the album while on a trip in BC which definitely influenced the album as a whole. Every song on the album has a special story/emotional connection to me that connects to and describes different parts of my life, events that have taken place, or things that I have gone through.

SA: You have mentioned previously the amount of learning and work that goes into getting a musical career or project off the ground. If you could narrow it down to one piece of advice for other up-and-coming Ottawa musicians, what would it be?
GR: Don’t wait for things to happen, make things happen.

SA: You’re playing the upcoming MEGAPHONO Festival. What can attendees expect from your live performance, and are you looking forward to checking out any other acts/panels of the festival?
GR: They can expect an energetic yet very atmospheric set with dance-driven beats and emotionally-driven soundscapes. I work to have as much variation in my set yet also make every sound work together as a single unit. As for other sets, I am really looking forward to seeing The Acorn!

SA: What do you hope for musically in 2016? Our best wishes for your continued successes!
GR: Well there are many shows in the works right now for the year as well as many planned releases. Although I can’t say much else at this point, I can say that this is going to be a very exciting year! - Sometimes Always

Pierce talks with Gabe about his festival experiences and favourite live tracks. - Sometimes Always

Frayd, the youngest guest yet, sits down with the guys from Stonehall Sessions and talks his album, vocaloids, and his "sound". - Stonehall Sessions

OTTAWA ELECTRONIC PRODUCER
FRAYD RELEASED A NEW FIVESONG
EP VACATION, FULL OF
FINELY-TUNED SINGLES AND FLUID
AND ROMANTICIZED TRACKS RIGHT
IN TIME FOR SUMMER.
Occasionally weaving between
pop-like tendencies and mellow
EDM, the album does not
stick within the parameters of
one genre. Instead, it moves
from electronic and synth into
chillstep, then into rap and back
to electronic with each track
growing in complexity.
“Frayd-step?” The young
producer jokes, when asked to
describe his musical sound.
“Since I take influence from so
many kinds of music my sound
is always changing and using
so many different elements. I
guess it would be in the world of
future bass or garage but that also
doesn’t really fit.”
Frayd eschews the usual stew
of radio-friendly music, opting
instead to use software to hone
a grittier, more intimate sound
targeted towards a cosmopolitan
audience.
“I grew up with ambient music
that had very heavy emotional
undertones and had this amazing
ability to connect parts of my
life to those songs,” he said.
“I always try my best to create
that experience with my music
because I want everyone to feel
that at some point.”
Vacation opens with the
dreamy tune, “On Me” featuring
Vikki Gilmore. The record takes
you on a surreal adventure as
Frayd moves into a breezy,
twinkling piece of lo-fi synth pop,
invoking a feeling of returning
home to a place you’ve never
been.
He has a fondness for feminine
voices singing in their upper
register as evidenced in “After
Dark,” which is probably the most
fully realized track on the EP,
complete with a painstakingly
emotional vocal performance
from Maria Barefoot.
Vacation is also somewhat of a
hip-hop album, and a successful
one at that. Frayd introduces rap
in the songs “Left Alone” and
“Glasses On,” altering the vibe
of the whole album. The rappers
Sol Patches and Scribe offer their
lyrical talents, rhyming over the
sounds of waves.
Over the length of his album,
Frayd employs a general
atmospheric formula—skittish
beats that cleave easily to
vocals, tight instrumentals, and
undulating synths—that swells
with energy.
It’s unmistakably a summer
album, and would be recognizable
as such even if the album weren’t
titled Vacation. The album bleeds
nostalgia and comfort—listening
to it feels like being caressed by
warm waves and wind.
With this EP, Frayd displays
a radical growth as a producer,
composer and arranger. Although
the album doesn’t stick to one genre,
it never feels amature. He has an
astute ability to figure out what
makes different styles tick, and to
replicate them in his own work.
There’s no question behind
the title of this EP either. It’s
a showcase of a producer who
wants to sonically send his
listener on an extended vacation,
whether real or imaginary,
without ever having to leave their
bedroom.
“I realized most of my music
was a lot more heavy or wintery,”
Frayd said. “I wanted to make
something that people could
listen to and immediately
associate with warm evenings,
driving at night, sandy feet at
the beaches, and watermelon too
maybe.” - NNEKA NNAGBO