FREIDRIH$’S FULL-LENGTH LP ‘DON’T BE FALLING IN LOVE’ EXPLORES GENRE HYBRIDITY AND SAMPLING
Experimental Soundcloud rapper Freidrich$ is anything but conventional. From his sound to his appearance, Freidrich$ pushes creative boundaries as far as they can go. His newest effort, a full-length LP called Don’t Be Falling In Love, experiments with traditional music techniques and genres. It ranges from hip-hop to alternative rock, often switching in the blink of an eye. Listeners never know what to expect, except perhaps the unexpected. The record may not be for everyone, but Friedrich$’s self-awareness is contagious. Often, it makes the palpable technical mistakes feel intentional, guiding audiences to question what they know about modern music. Moreover, one must wonder: who is Friedrich$ behind his The Garden-esque clown face paint?
He certainly doesn’t let audiences forget his name. In fact, he says it in every song, often more than once. This was a classic technique borrowed from rappers and producers, dating back to the 80s. However, Freidrich$’s approach was vastly unconventional, like everything else he does. He seems to take samples from things he enjoys and throw them into the kitchen sink. Half the time, the sample doesn’t even need to make sense for it to fit in the song. He mixes keys and tempos, experimenting with the way music can sound. Admittedly, Freidrich$ tends to struggle pitch-wise. He does say that’s “why (he sings) like Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley,” so it begs one to question whether that’s intentional.
His songs’ structure wavers significantly throughout the record. It isn’t easy to decipher where one song ends and the other begins, due to the way they’re produced and performed. Sometimes, samples are layered on top of each other, creating uncontrolled chaos that blends into a loud array of sounds. This record is a challenging casual listen; you need to have a lot of references in your back pocket to piece everything together. The pace with which the samples change is astounding — at one point, I wondered if I was being trolled.
These curiosities may have been confirmed by the time I reached the track, “High School.” This was the only song on the full-length LP that was cited as a cover, despite the entire record being composed of samples. Amazingly, this was also the best song on the LP. Here, Freidrich$ shines as both a vocalist and a performer. The production is even more leveled out than it is in the rest of the album. It was so good, in fact, that I was convinced that Freidrich$ was leaning into shock value as currency. I won’t poke his bubble to the point of popping it; his mystery is part of his charm. However, with this in mind, it’s a bit easier to digest the record. Truthfully, the potential of Freidrich$ as a musician is evident throughout. The implementation of technical errors, from missed notes to a tendency to chase after the tempo, makes it difficult to decipher.
If he’s not a ridiculously fantastic troll (/positive), then Freidrich$ is establishing the framework for something extraordinary in the future. As he hones in on his skills, he will only establish himself as a more solid vocalist, composer, and lyricist. Now, the lyrics often lose their meaning for the sake of finding a rhyme scheme. There are some intricate metaphors, though, like in “Business.” Again, I’m left to question my troll-spotting abilities. Freidrich$ is a talented musician… but, how serious is he being throughout Don’t Be Falling In Love?
Even the album cover, with a seemingly unserious arrangement of fonts, colors, and references, seems to be at least silly-adjacent.
I can’t say for sure, but Fredrich$ also appears rather young. When I was what I believe to be his age, I would have done the same thing to get some online clicks.
“One day, I’ll be old, if I’m not already,” is a hilarious bar.
Keep sampling, Freidrich$.