[INTERVIEW] Getting to Know Singer-Songwriter Froya

Malaysian singer-songwriter Froya has had a busy few years from working on her own music to collaborating with artists in Japan. Froya works as a full-time composer under one of Malaysia’s top audio post-production studios, Maveriq Studios. Also, the release of her track ‘Panic Bird’ won Froya the award for Best Engineered Album at Malaysia’s biggest music award – AIM#22 in 2016.

Get to know more about the talented Froya in our exclusive interview, seen below.

Interview with Froya

Please introduce yourself to the readers of HypnoticAsia.

Hey there! My name is Froya and I’m currently based in Kuala Lumpur working full time as a composer/music producer. I also grew up in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Borneo), where we “claimed to” have the best seafood in the whole Malaysia! 

In 2016, your track, “Panic Bird” won the award for Best Engineered Album at Malaysia’s biggest music award – AIM #22, how did that feel?

To be honest, it came as a happy surprise that year the album was nominated alongside artists that were all very well respected. Back in 2016, I was still an amateur producer. I produced and recorded the album in my own “semi-professional” way, and it’s really thanks to the amazing sound engineers whom I worked with who did a great job working on this album, especially Paul Morrison and the engineers from Maveriq Studio.

What is your favorite thing about performing? Do you prefer smaller crowds or larger?

I don’t mind small or big crowds as I’d still give my 100%.  Each show has its own memories to take with me. What I like about performing is that I get to share some of my new and “unreleased” material with new audiences. I get to perform them live and see how I feel on stage and how the crowds react.  It usually gives me a hint whether the track that I’m working on is a keeper or not.

You’ve had many collaborations with various Japanese artists. Tell us about how that came to be and your experience in working with artists like SNOWK, Tokimeki Records and UQiYO.

It all started when I was picked to perform at Fukuoka Asian Picks 2019 in Japan. I was contacted by Yutaka Takanami (Founder of Namy& Label and Electronic Producer of SNOWK) even before I was in Fukuoka to start a series of music collaborations with Tokimeki Records. The Tokimeki Project is a series of music projects covering 80s Pop Hits, and it is so well known now in Japan! I’m so glad that I get to be a part of their releases.

It was absolute bliss working with SNOWK because I LOVE all of their releases. I’ve had the honor to collaborate on 4 tracks for their album – one of them being “Powder” this year. Other than that, I also had the chance to work on a few more singles before and after this album. Some of them were signed to Kitsuné Musique label in Paris! What I’m really grateful for is the amount of creative freedom and trust given by SNOWK on every single collaboration. Working with Yutaka has also led me to collaborate with other amazing artists/music producers like Shigge, PHIN, Nude (France), and Loverground (UK).

In early 2020 before the pandemic hit, I was invited by Yutaka to Tokyo to meet with his protege – UQiYO for a “co-write session”. Yuqi – the brainchild of UQiYO is one of the most talented and down to earth music producers I’ve ever met. I think the “co-write session” successfully broke down the wall of culture and background differences between each musician. Somehow both of us felt connected in many ways after exchanging our musical backgrounds; culture; musical taste; and styles. We also talked about our struggles and aspirations in our musical path. 

Our first writing session in Tokyo was amazingly smooth and fun! We got the first draft of ideas within an hour and I remembered we all stood up and cheered about it! The track was later titled “Invisible” and it was released in UQiYO album “loom” this year.

If you could collaborate with any artist that you haven’t already, who would it be and why?

Not an artist per se,  but I’ve always wanted to work with a children’s choir. I think there is something pure and magical in their voices!

Do you believe that working as a full-time composer has changed your own music in any way?

Absolutely! I get to work with different genres of music for different brands, visuals, clients and film every single day. It has forced me out of my comfort zone and has made me expand my knowledge on other genres, and even helped me to further develop with the ones I’m already comfortable with.

I think having a full time job and also writing on my own for Froya can be quite challenging at times, but It has certainly made me a stronger and more well-rounded music producer/composer.

Congratulations on the release of your newest EP “Creatures”; tell us a little about the process in making the album.

Thank you! It has been on my mind for a long time to release an EP since my debut album and I’ve always been battling for “time”! (And I still do)

When the pandemic hit in early 2020 and everyone was forced to work from home, I took that as an opportunity to really look into the EP that I’ve always wanted to produce. The condition was perfect to write as I didn’t have to be anywhere; no distractions; no performance to prep for etc.

I chose “Creature” as the theme of the EP because it was quite similar to my lockdown experience. The feeling of complete isolation and seeing the world change, and trying to figure out my future in all that. I went through all in my music folder, where I keep little snippets of songs and picked out the best 3 that felt like they belonged in the same EP.

I recorded everything in my little bedroom and sacrificed my guest room mattresses to form a little fort to record all my vocals. Super DIY but I feel it was less intimidating in a comforting way. That’s also part of the theme of the EP, to simply express with honesty and raw emotions.

How would you say this EP differs from your debut album?

I have certainly grown a lot more, and shed a lot of my insecurities as a music producer for this EP. I was more hands on as well in every aspect of this EP and even in the final mixing. I’ve forced myself to learn how to mix until it’s 98% ready for mastering before passing it to the engineer for final stem check & mastering. Compared to “Panic Bird” I was definitely nowhere near where I am right now.

Have you been exploring different genres for your own music?

Absolutely, I think I’m already conscious and unconsciously going towards that direction even in my earlier releases. Someone pointed out to me that the music I’m making belongs to “Artpop” and genre-bending kind of directions, which is what I’m truly about. I think this is something that I will and will always be looking out for in order to keep my passion alive.

We also heard that you’ll be releasing new tracks in 2022. What can we expect from these new releases?

“Creature” was a great learning curve for me on how to handle my time and work flow better in 2022. I’m excited to share a few new singles next year, and that will also belong to another upcoming EP. Apart from that, few collaborations are in the talks as well.

Check out Froya’s latest release “Creature“.