Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Freda D’Souza is an artist who contentedly creates at snail’s pace. Her world is small; simplicity reveals detail and, in turn, detail reveals infinity. Her songs place the unspeakable intensity of love and life within a warm and shimmering sonic world, filled with layered vocals, lush strings and dynamic arrangements. Out June 2023 on demo records and Crossness Records, her debut EP Windowledge, performed, recorded and mixed at home by Freda and mastered by Jake Reynolds, explores the trials of intimacy and the value of introspection and forging space for reflection. Freda cherishes space. In space, there is tenderness.
Drawing from classic and contemporary folk and experimental reference points (as much Vashti Bunyan and Joni Mitchell as Aldous Harding and Jenny Hval), Windowledge is a spacious and shimmering introduction to a singular emerging talent.

What Freda says: “I’m Freda D’Souza, and I have just released my debut EP, Windowledge, which has been a huge relief. These songs took a good few years to make their way into the world, and they are very pleased to meet you all. It took a time long to overcome the shame I felt around how sad these songs are, and I feel my music has been a journey in allowing that sadness (and a plethora of other emotions) to exist without shame.”

“If songwriting is not for navel-gazing, then what is? I don’t want to feel ashamed all the time; let music be a haven for me.”
“Although I have been writing since 15, it took me a while to gather songs and record them in a way that I liked. I always ended up in these studios with older men and I would feel so tense and end up with a recording I was completely unhappy with. As well as this, I never felt any need to record my songs as I could listen to them in my head at any time – the songs already existed to me as living entities. Since 2020, I have been exploring the ways I could use demo recording to capture a space that would add to the song, as well as capturing a time span.“

Her Mixtape: “I was trying not to get too personal when writing about the songs on my mixtape but, truly, I am a bag of emotions… so welcome to my heart.“

Joanna Newsom – Sawdust and Diamonds

It’s hard for me to pick one Joanna Newsom song, but just reading the lyrics of this masterpiece gives me chills. I spent a period of my life memorising the words so I could carry them around with me always- luckily I can genuinely only remember things when they are set to music, and what sublime music this is.

Moses Sumney – Polly

I wasn’t sure why at first, but for about 6 months I listened to this song obsessively on repeat. After a few months I started to realise it represented how I was being treated by a friend at the time. I suppose my music brain was searching for healing before my rational brain was ready. Lyrically and sonically, this song feels perfect to me -especially the moment where he says ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6’, I just can’t get over the texture in his voice!

Big Thief – From

‘No one can be my (wo)man’… this song taught me so much about love without possession. It almost feels like a polyamorous mantra when I listen to it, reminding me that love is always a choice on both sides, in any relationship.

Sufjan Stevens – Futile Devices

My hipster father has a intense love for Sufjan Stevens which coloured my childhood beautifully. This is a song we would listen to while driving to Dollis Hill to see my Grandparents, and I remember sitting in the backseat intently trying to work out what the little plucking sounds were. Still today, this song feels like a blanket and I often listen to it on repeat when I am in need of comfort. I am planning to embroider all the lyrics onto a t-shirt as I want to carry them with me everywhere.

Laura Marling – The Valley

Just so stunning!! I have been massively into Laura Marling since I was 15, and through listening, I learned how sing and write songs. This one in particular hugely influenced the production on my EP. Also, the music video is sublime.

Björk – Come to me, (live vulnicura tour version)

At some point in my life, I found a gaping whole where my self love should have been -I became obsessed with this song and consumed every live version and cover I could find (especially Moses Sumney’s). I would sing this song to myself in an act of comfort and self-care.

anrimeal – She, who never flies away

I met Ana on Gumtree after she put up an ad looking for musical collaborators. At that time in my life, I was too empty to listen to music but she sent me her album and I felt my old love of music creep back- it’s hard to put into words how much this meant to me. It was the music I had been abstractly craving made real. I am continually astounded by the poetry and humanness of Ana’s music, her artistry and ability to capture feelings I so struggle the put into words. Chills, Ana, chills…

Daniel Glenn Padgett – Pearl in water

One of my all-time favourite songs. The snapshot lyrics, sung in Daniel’s incredibly expressive voice, capture moments of humanness, struggle and salvation in relationships. Daniel has played me many iterations of this song (I have had the absolute privilege of playing some of these with him), and it always remains timeless, never failing to drive straight to the core of my being.

Nina Harries – Water

A song of recovery and rediscovery of the self. ‘Every part of me that had drifted away, is coming together again’. She captures the beauty of finding contentment in simple everyday moments which, for those recovering from trauma, can be a massive turning point. I am so grateful Nina has put these feelings into such a perfect song.

Rachel Sermanni – Gently I

I can’t say anything that is not said through gentleness and wisdom of this song.

Windowledge is out now on demo records and Crossness records. Look HERE for more information on Freda D’Souza.