Freya Josephine Hollick | The Real World

When I first heard Freya Josephine Hollick perform this song, it was at the Palais in Hepburn, where the singer-songwriter charismatically maneuvered the entire audience into a side room where an old piano was positioned against a wall. That same audience huddled around as Freya delicately sang this beautiful ballad unplugged, and there was a silent weeping that could be felt.

That same weeping happens when you listen to the now-produced version and watch Freya traverse the sands of some unknown place, dressed in an ensemble made up of a gold body-suit, a breathing mask with oxygen canister and a transparent plastic raincoat and boots; a combination that makes for a look that is nothing short of iconic.

As put by the songwriter, the track has “sprung from the desecration of the natural world and mass extinctions” and is the title track from her forthcoming album.

Everything about this song and video is poignantly beautiful. There is a sadness to it, of course, but within that sadness is a beauty. Perhaps it is the beauty of knowing that we’re not alone in feeling this way about our world, and about what our own species has done.

This is the kind of sadness that moves you. I am of the view that sadness in music is a powerful force. To be moved to tears, whether visible or not, can be a life altering experience. Indeed, it is life altering experiences that are most needed now as we stand at the intersection between now and all possible futures.

We love this latest offering from Freya and can’t wait to see what the album has in store for us all.