Frex Talks “Used To,” Artistry, And 2024 Plans
Courtesy of Hannah De Vries
Frex has been going hard cultivating her artistry. And in this era, that may not be something listeners are used to.
The Los Angeles singer spent 2023 meticulously releasing a slew of tracks. Her momentum began with 2022's organic viral track, "Oxford Circus"— a dreamy number honored with placement on Spotify's Viral 50. She used that attention and dropped "Hoodie Back" in August 2023, a feature on Amindi's "so much better" in September, and "Postcards" in October. But her most recent single, "Used To," is different.
The track, which features the incredible Jordan Ward, is a minimalistic meditation on trusting someone enough to give a relationship a try. Ward and Frex's vocals mesh together like waves of an ocean, crashing, bleeding and swaying into each other, as a sea of emotion washes over their listeners—It's a gentle beauty. "Used To" is the type of song that hinges on the confidence of its singer. And Frex feels right at home, vocally and lyrically, on this new cuffing season entry.
After hearing the song, we naturally had questions for the upstart songbird. Luckily, In Search Of Magazine was able to sit down with the LA artist just before she gets too big to turn us down (partially joking).
Frex opened up about her new single and working with Ward, the music video, her artistry, influences, and her music plans for 2024.
In Search Of Magazine: Where did you get your artist name from and what does it mean?
Frex: I gave the name to myself because I didn’t want my soundcloud to pop up next to my LinkedIn profile while I was in business school. [The name] comes from freckles - I used to have a lot more on my face, but then I started wearing sunscreen everyday lol. They’re definitely still there though… just had to clear that up because people ask me all the time! haha
ISO: How did you and Jordan Ward meet?
F: The first time we met in person was at a show of mine in 2022. A couple months prior he posted "oxford circus" on his story which I was really excited about because I was definitely a fan… so I couldn't believe he came to my show and was also singing the words haha. He's a really nice guy.
ISO: How did you two create "Used To"? Were you both in the studio together?
F: The song was made in three sessions. For the first two sessions, Jordan and I were in the studio together. The first one was coming up with the idea for the song and writing/recording the verses and the hook. In the second session, Jordan and I both came into the studio with ideas for a B section. Jordan had this idea of doing something like 'ayyy yaaa yaa yaa yaa yaa yaa yaa yaa' and I loved it and stacked my vocals on top of it. then I had this idea of adding those sort of chant-like vocals of 'I must learn to trust. Yes, I must. Can I trust you?' I felt like those lyrics really drove the message of the song home. it honestly only occurred to me the other day how cool it was that Jordan and I came up with those ideas away from each other outside of the studio and they ended up stacking so well together.
Then, for the third session, I took the song to an engineer/producer I worked with closely and added some background vocals, which you can hear on the hook and a little bit throughout the verses and the bridge.
A lot of care went into this song because Jordan and I liked it so much from the very beginning.
ISO: What was the inspiration for the track?
F:I was talking to someone I liked at the time, but it was still really new. I remember talking to Jordan about how this person was doing everything right so far, but I wasn't sure whether or not they would keep that same energy as time went on. I wasn't sure if I was the problem for being a little suspicious, haha. I really spilled to him and then the writing just came really naturally.
ISO: People have been comparing you to Billie Eilish and Snoh Aalegra. How do you handle comparisons at this point in your career?
F: It's natural for humans to make comparisons. I think our brains instinctively want to go 'this thing is like this other thing!' I don't really mind comparisons because I get why people do it - it's just our nature. That being said, I think comparisons are always funny and never give them too much weight because everyone sees everything differently.
Billie Eilish comparisons always make me laugh because it lets me know they're comparing our looks. Billie is gorgeous and can dress, so I take it as a compliment, but I don't think our music really sounds alike.
I think i'm much more aligned with Snoh musically. I had to delete Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies from my library for a while so I could get over a heartbreak I was going through LOL. Listening to it made me too sad and I couldn't keep doing it to myself. I did end up re-adding it recently because it's so good. Being compared to Snoh is definitely a compliment!
ISO: What went into the creation of your music video for "Used To"? How long did the planning and directing take for that video?
F: We put it into motion pretty quick! I have the best managers, so they handled it - my manager Justin actually directed the music video, which is insane. We had a crew and stuff, but he was directing them. I think we went from planning to shooting it in less than a week.
ISO: What can we expect from you in 2024?
F: New project, visuals, cool features, and a tour!
Courtesy of Hannah De Vries
ISO: Are you going to stay in the R&B lane? Or are you going to expand your musical repertoire?
F: R&B will always influence my music in the same way alternative music influences the R&B music I make. I think I just make music within the spectrum of R&B and alt, so whatever I do will likely fall on that spectrum, whether it's more alt leaning or more R&B leaning. I think there are some people who would say my music isn't R&B and some people who would say my music isn't alternative, so I don't even know anymore lol. All I know is that it's all drawn from the same place, which is music that I love to listen to.
I have been making some more alt music lately, which packs more of a punch and has been a little more upbeat than my usual stuff. That won't be on this upcoming project, though. I'm still very much in exploration mode. But to answer your question: I am not afraid to branch out and try other sounds, but I will also always love and make R&B music!
