Talent: Swedish Singer FRÉNE Lays Her Heart On The Table In Debut Track

FRÉNE, a.k.a Nova Johnsson, is a Swedish singer whose ready to tell everyone how it is. Her debut single ‘DRIPPIN’, which is out next week, is a message to her abusive exes, and the pleasure in moving on. We spoke to FRÉNE about her path to being a singer, her upcoming EP and how the pandemic has effected being a musician.

What made you want to get into music?

I was always good at singing and performing, but I never thought music would be my profession, or something I could actually do. Only old friends and family knew I could sing, so it wasn’t until one of my closest friends (that works in the music industry) saw a clip of me singing, and said I should give it a go professionally. After that, everything just happened through hard work and having fun! I went to meetings, sessions and wrote songs everyday, and all I wanna do now is music, because I finally found where I belong, and how to channel my emotions. 

Tell us about your new single and what you wanted to achieve with its release

‘DRIPPIN» is a diss track to my exes, focusing a little bit on two of them, because they were the most fucked up. One was convicted for domestic violence, and the other one cheated on me in our bed. During these times I wrote a lot of notes on my phone to get my feelings out, because I felt quite alone. Then the producer for the track (Evelina Fernerud) showed me a sample of the chorus, and I just knew that this song was made for me – I wrote the rest of the song in like 30 minutes!

It’s a song for people going through rough shit with their exes, but being able to thrive without them. Leaving someone is hard, but you can move forward and live a happy life. So it’s a song for the people that can relate to moving on, but also a sign to anyone that is afraid to leave a bad relationship. I just want people to enjoy it. 

Has your previous work in social media helped you with navigating your music career?

Nah. Sure, I have an amazing fanbase already, but they had to adapt with the fact that i’m now an artist. But my previous work with social media was nothing like doing music. I don’t wanna say I disliked working with social media, but I felt a lot of pressure to be perfect and relevant. I was kind of there to sell things, but now I feel like an actual person that does something meaningful. 

I have an amazing team that have believed in me from the start and pushed me. Without them I would not be here, but I’ve also entered rooms where people act like it’s a problem that an «influencer» has turned into an artist, like i’m stealing a spot in the music industry because I worked in social media, but I got here because of my talent.

How has the current pandemic situation affected your life as a musician?

I am privileged because I did not have a tour planned during this year, as my main focus was to lock myself in my room or the studio, and just write and produce, so it’s actually going as I planned. I just write songs everyday and plan for the future. The only problems I have at the moment is that I can’t travel to either London or the US, where I have music opportunities. But whatever, I have FaceTime and should not complain. I just miss the nightclubs. So, so much.

What’s next for you? Can you give us any details on your upcoming EP?

I’ve changed my way of releasing music. Instead of releasing EPs or albums, I wanna drop so many singles. I already have three songs being released this year if everything goes as I planned. I’m currently working with Harrison First (producer for Ängie, SAINt JHN) and Lincoln Jesser (producer for Terror Jr, G-Eazy) on some projects, and I can give you one hint: my old fake friends are gonna get a song dedicated to them.

Photographs by Olivia Huerta Bratteng

FRÉNE will be hosting a takeover on our Instagram on 11th June, taking us through the release of her new single – Join us at 7AM CET to get to know FRÉNE, and see behind the scenes!

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