Freeze The Fall Interview

Kayleigh
May 23
5 min read

Had a chat with Freeze The Fall about their upcoming EP, imagery, influences and more...

Hey, hope you guys are well! Could you start by introducing yourselves and your roles in the band?

Quinn Mitzel, lead guitar and vocalist. Aria Becker, bass player and backup vocalist. Jonah Goncalves, drummer.

First things first, you have your new EP 'The Red Garden' coming out on the 18th of June, how are you feeling about that?

We are super excited for this EP to release. It has felt like a whirlwind but we can't wait for our fans to hear the EP. Our debut EP 'Thrones' hasn't even been out for a whole year so it has been a really busy time, but we love it! We are very proud of this work, it feels like an evolution from 'Thrones' and that is really important to all of us, to always feel like we are growing as musicians and songwriters.

What are some themes that are present in the EP?

'The Red Garden' is a concept EP, it is ultimately us exploring common social issues we see around us and telling them through the lens of what is essentially a dark fairytale. If you dive into the lyrics you will find us digging into ideas around the harmful nature of technology and online anonymity and how that can all lead to feelings of regret and isolation. Those ideas are expressed through the use of characters who ultimately represent elements of each of us.

What songs from the EP would you say were easier or harder to write?

Hmm, interesting question. We would not necessarily say one was harder or easier than the rest. No question that sometimes the creative process flows more smoothly but the songs take shape as they are meant to, you know? 'Oubliette' was really interesting to write because of the bilingual lyrics but that was really exciting to work on.

How has the process of creating this EP been?

Really exciting! This one was very different than 'Thrones' because we put a little more pressure on the timelines. That forced us to work a little faster which was actually a really interesting learning, it required a lot of discipline. It also meant the balance between high school and our music work was a little more challenging this time around. An EP comes with a lot of additional calls for our time, photo shoots, gigs, videos, interviews it all adds up! But we wouldn't change a thing. It is such a privilege to get to do this.

Who would you say are your biggest musical inspirations?

We get asked this a lot and our answer is a bit unusual because most of our inspiration doesn't actually come from music. Our music is really inspired by everything around us. We take inspiration from the world, human experience, the books we read, what we are learning in school, colours, the weather... music yes... but mostly we are always observing, and the inspiration comes from everywhere.

I love the visuals you guys are putting out, your style and videos are gorgeous, what inspired the way you look as a band?

Great question! We knew from the beginning we wanted our visual aesthetic to mean something. How the art that connects with our music and how we appear on stage or in photos etc is all part of the bigger story of what our music means to us. The overall look and feel is inspired by elements of each of us, it's a combination of a love of all things vintage, Victorian Gothic, and horror mixed in with elements of grunge and punk vibes. It may evolve over time but that's where we are today.

Speaking of videos, 'Hypothermia' especially is a favourite of mine, what was the process like for making this one?

Absolutely wild! This shoot was 5 days, 3 of which were spent on a frozen lake in -13 degrees (Celcius) weather! To say it was cold would be an understatement of the year. If we weren't on camera we were working as a team to stay warm. We can't say enough about our crew of friends from Orphanarium, their dedication to their craft is truly inspiring. We are so grateful to work with them. Interestingly, the inspiration for 'Hypothermia' actually began with a colour, we essentially contemplated the idea of what would blood on snow sound like? That evolved to an idea around ice blue and blood red, which you see illustrated in the costumes for the video. Art and music... always intertwined.

'Hypothermia' (Official Music Video)

When it comes to things like merch, do you design that yourselves or do you get help from outside sources?

That's a great question. We work with a designer named Kevin Moore who lives here in our hometown. He works with some truly world class artists so getting to work with him still blows our minds. Aria plays a big role in working with Kevin. She will often come up with the concepts for the merch designs and then work with Kevin to bring them to life. It is very cool to have that connection because it means our voice is really connected to the final outcome of those designs.

There's such a pressure right now in music to be constantly releasing, especially as a new band, how do you manage that pressure?

Yes, we feel that. That is complicated to answer because we don't really know anything else. This has been our reality from the beginning. That being said, we are always aware of the pressure. Everything is measured in streams and when you slow down streams fall off. It's a bit of a race with no finish line. That is a big part of why 'The Red Garden' is coming out less than a year behind 'Thrones', we wanted to keep the momentum building. Now we are working on a full-length album so that will take more time, we hope the fans will stay with us!

Has there been any moments that have felt particularly special since you formed as a band?

Too many to count. Honestly this whole journey feels surreal most of the time. Definitely holding our vinyl in hand the first time was pretty special for all of us. Streaming is one thing but holding that physical art in hand was the culmination of a lot of hard work from us and our whole family of support.

What are some artists that you guys are listening to at the moment?

Jonah - Bleed From Within, Gojira, Rammstein Aria - Bring Me The Horizon, Billie Eilish, Baby Bugs Quinn - KiKi Rockwell, Children of Bodum & Myrkur

So, you've got 'The Red Garden' coming out soon, do you have anything else upcoming that you'd like to share?

We are very excited to be celebrating our EP launch in Vancouver on June 27th! After that we are going to be working hard on a full-length album so stay tuned for that!

I always like to wrap up with a bit of a silly one, would you rather be able to speak to ghosts or communicate with animals?

Quinn - Ghosts because I'd love to understand the people that came before us. Aria - Speak to ghosts. I feel like a lot of learning and perspective could be gained from that. There is also a very special person that never got to see me as a musician. I'd love to tell him all about this dream coming true. Jonah - Animals, I literally always want to know what my cat is thinking.

Interview by Kayleigh McKenzie