TOM FREUND - Trio (USA)

“I get shivers down my spine on almost every tune. Along with Lucinda Williams, Freund is the best singer/songwriter operating today.” – GRAHAM PARKER

“Every year the mounting landfill of new releases that threatens to bury the working music journalists yields a few unexpected gems, and Tom Freund is one of them.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES

An organic collection of songs and stories, breathing with an acoustic richness and lyrics that capture slices of Americana in a way that many attempt, yet very few actually master.” – NO DEPRESSION

“Tom Freund is indeed one of the great singer-songwriters. He constructs a unique world, defines it, and then burns it to the ground. Truly unique and absolutely brilliant.” – ALL MUSIC GUIDE

“In the vein of Tom Petty, singer-songwriter Tom Freund—formerly of The Silos—is making that smooth classic folk rock that’s so pure and pretty, it transcends time. His latest solo record Two Moons is drenched in sunny harmonies, often set to melancholy tunes. Looking back resurfaces again and again on Moons, a constant reminder of the importance of moving forward, but appreciating where you’ve been.” —THE HORN (Austin) 

“If you want to hear what California feels like, Tom Freund’s new album is a good plac to start. . . .Two Moons channels Randy newman and celebrates the eccentric town where Freund and others proudly fly their freak flag.” —ACOUSTIC GUITAR

“If Tom Petty and Nick Drake had a love child.” – BLOGCRITICS.COM

Tom Freund & Friends

In einer gerechten Welt wäre Tom Freund längst ein Superstar. 1992 veröffentlichten die beiden Musiker Ben Harper & Tom Freund zusammen das Album "Pleasure & Pain“. Für Ben Harper war es der Start zu einer grossen weltweiten Karriere, während Tom Freund in Insider -Kreisen zu einem Liebling avancierte.  Ben Harper, der 2008 Freunds meisterliches Album "Collapsible Plans" produzierte, sagt: "Tom ist einer der besten Musiker, die ich kenne.“ Er gilt als Liebling der kalifornischen Singer Songwriter-Szene. Ob Brett Dennen, Victoria Williams oder gar Jackson Browne, welche mit Tom Freund zusammenarbeiteten, alle schwärme vom gebürtigen New Yorker.  Es ist die unangestrengte Leichtigkeit, die Tiefe und Einfachheit, mit der dieser begnadete Musiker begeistert. Man fühlt sich auf positive Art & Weise an Wilco oder auch an einen Tom Waits erinnert. Nach etlichen Solo-Konzerten in den letzten Jahren kehrt er nun für zwei Konzerte in die Schweiz zurück. Dabei wird er von niemandem geringeren als Jack Johnsons Drummer Adam Topol sowie dem Bassisten Rodrigo Aravena (William White, Men at Work...) begleitet. Mit im Gepäck sein aktuelles und vielgelobtes Werk „ 2 Moons“.

Tom Freund & Two Moons

Over the course of his career, Tom Freund has created a wide variety of albums. His first was a collaboration with Ben Harper and his last was a double disc live album. In between, he’s made full-lengths, EPs, a children’s CD and a Christmas album — but he’s never made an album like 2 Moons.

Brett Dennen, Serena Ryder, Arthur Fonzarelli and Barbarella all make appearances on the L.A.-based troubadour’s latest album. This self-produced disc finds the Los Angeles-based Freund in a contemplative yet confident mood, where swirls of nostalgia blend with sharp-eyed views of life today. 

Freund, in producing and co-engineering this album, draws upon folk, rock, jazz and other roots sources for an urbane Americana sound. He blends in cool touches: woozy mariachi horns pop up in “Same Old Shit,” mermaid-evoking backing vocals in “Next Time Around.” He punctuates “Heavy Balloon” with a blast of electric guitar and guest Stan Behrens (of Canned Heat fame) lends an atmospheric harmonica solo to “Weekend Guy” (a co-write with singer/songwriter Brett Dennen, who contributes vocals too). Inspired by listening to a lot of old Squeeze music, Freund also mixed in some trippy keyboards and old-school synths to flesh out tracks like “Me and Bernice and “Lemme Be Who I Wanna Be.”

The “Lemme Be” lyrical theme translated to the recording of 2 Moons as well. Freund brought a “this is the way we do it” approach to the sessions, which were done in studios across Los Angeles (from Echo Park to North Hollywood to his own setup in Venice). The recording went exceptionally well. “I knew what guys to grab and how to get it done,” he confides. “There weren’t wasted takes or wasted hours.” He used a core of group of musicians he knew (drummers Michael Jerome and Michael Iveson, keyboardist Chris Joyner and bassist John Button) and, he says, “every time we got together, something good happened.” Some talented old friends lent Freund support too. David Immergluck (Counting Crows/John Hiatt) weaves his pedal steel through 2 Moons, while “Angel Eyes” features vocals from Ben Harper, who also produced Freund’s 2008 CD Collapsible Plans.

Freund himself plays guitars, ukulele, keyboards and bass on 2 Moons. An in-demand bass player, Freund got his first big break in the mid-’90s playing for the Austin-based roots-rock cult heroes the Silos. He settled in Venice, California around the time of his 1998 solo debut North American Long Weekend. Over the years, he alternated between making his own music and working with folks like Mandy Moore, Rachael Yamagata and Graham Parker, who has hailed Freund as one of “the best singer/songwriters operating today.” You can even spot Freund playing with Parker in the recent Judd Apatow film, This Is 40.

Fans’ reactions resonate strongly with Freund: he feels that a job of a songwriter to help others access what they are feeling. “A real joy is when people come and tell me that a song or an album got them through something,” he says. If 2 Moons, with its underlying message of hope in this messy world of ours, serves as an inspiring, encouraging soundtrack for listeners, “then I can say to myself: ‘okay, you’re doing something right for some people out there.”

Taste-Tips:

Meet the artist: Portrait of Tom 

Tom Freund: "Collapsible Plans"

A favourite Tom song: "Copper Moon" (feat. Ben Harper)