Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Post - Athens, OH
The independent newspaper covering campus and community since 1911.
The Post

Freekbass will play at Casa Nueva on Friday at 10 p.m. (PROVIDED via Freekbass)

Freekbass to perform at Casa Nueva

Funk artist Freekbass is back in Athens.

Freekbass, a funk artist with Cincinnati roots, will be performing at Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St., on Friday starting at 10 p.m. Joining him will be Athens-borne band The Awful Kind. Tickets are available at Casa Nueva or online.

With music inspired by artists ranging from James Brown to Daft Punk, Freekbass’ diverse taste contributes to his unique style of music. 

Delia Grantham, a freshman studying pre-social work, calls his music “super fun and unique.”

Freekbass is a huge fan of performing in Athens. He played here last spring and loves the town, calling it a “great funk… and music town.” Freekbass can’t wait to be back.

Ever since Freekbass was young, he gravitated toward musicians. 

“I was always around a lot of musicians,” Freekbass said. “Not necessarily in my family, but I happened to get acquainted with (musicians) in some part of town when I was 13, 14 years old.”

Starting off as a drummer, Freekbass slowly worked his way up in the music business. He always knew that music was what he wanted to do, but meeting famous funk artist Bootsy Collins was an especially pivotal moment in his career that kicked everything off.

“I think when I met Bootsy Collins, that was definitely life changing,” Freekbass said. “When I was just starting out,  I was just starting to play shows and was recording; he kind of took me under his wing and brought me around the studio, and taught me about the music business. He definitely helped me unlock a few doors along the way, which helped quite a bit with my career.”

In his free time, Freekbass loves superhero movies, Netflix and podcasts. Both Donald Glover and Barack Obama follow him on Twitter, and he isn’t exactly sure why.

“Donald Glover: he’s a big funk fan; I’m sure that’s a big part of it. If you look at his last two albums, they’re very funk-oriented type albums,” Freekbass said. “I did a little sort of bass remix with his song ‘This Is America’ when it came out a few months ago. It’s a great song; he’s obviously super talented. Obama, I mean, I was a big supporter of his…you’re gonna have to ask Obama that.”

A big part of Freekbass’ music is simply jamming in a show, testing out different tunes and rhythms. Through jamming, Freekbass occasionally picks up on a melody he likes and turns it into a song. 

“Sometimes, we’ll just be jamming at a show. We’ll come up with an idea and record it in our studio, sort of refining it a little bit,” Freekbass said. “I always kind of feel like all songs are out there in the atmosphere, and it’s almost like an antenna, like a radio antenna. The songs are already out there, and you’re almost like a conduit to bring that song in.”

From here, Freekbass just wants to do what he loves — play music. With new plans to tour in Australia, Asia, Canada and the U.S., Freekbass hopes to share his music with the world while inspiring listeners to go home and create some of their own music. 

“Music is something meant to be shared,” Freekbass said. “So, hopefully, somebody can hear what I do and make something in their own way, and it keeps passing on and gets bigger and bigger.”

@thelilyroby

lr158117@ohio.edu

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2016-2024 The Post, Athens OH