FREAKS – Beatportal Interview

A Tale of two Freaks – Beatportal Interview 3d March

It was the best of times, it was the freakiest of times. Since 1996, Freaks—the London duo of Luke Solomon and Justin Harris—have been turning dancefloors upside down with their unique sense of boompty. It’s hard to imagine the house music of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s without Freaks tunes like ‘Turning Orange’ or ‘Washing Machine’, which managed to combine elements of jacking Chicago house, minimal German techno and an unhinged, quintessentially British sense of humor.

Freaks spent a decade kicking merrily around the underground, releasing dozens of singles and three albums, most of it for their own Music For Freaks imprint. Then, in 2007, a funny thing happened on their way to the disco: ‘The Creeps’, a record that they had originally released in 2003, finally wormed its way into the U.K. pop charts, going all the way to #9. Pretty cool—unless you happen to be Freaks, for whom the idea of pop stardom is about as appealing as an extended bout of stomach flu.

Reeling from the exposure, Freaks went dark; Solomon focused his efforts on solo material, including a string of singles and an album for Radio Slave’s REKIDS label, and a cracking collaboration with Jonny Rock, ‘It’s In The Rhythm’, for Playhouse.

Now, at long last, the duo has emerged from its underground burrow with an irreverent new single for Crosstown Rebels, ‘UMakeNoSense’, and another new record, ‘Right Now’, for Rebirth, featuring vocals from the legendary Chicago house musician Robert Owens. To top it all off, they’ve pulled together a selection of hits, obscurities and exclusives, ‘Best of Times’, for their own Music for Freaks label. We caught up with Solomon by phone to ask what brought them back, and to find out if the world is finally ready for Freaks….. to read full article please click here