Music
25 Aug 21

PREMIERE: Fräulein share fiery new single 'Belly'

Fräulein By Emma Swann

Take a look at the lyric video for 'Belly' below.

Following the release of their acclaimed debut single 'Pretty People' earlier this year, Fräulein are back with their highly anticipated follow-up, 'Belly' – premiering below.

Made up of Northern Ireland's Joni Samuels (vocals, guitar) and the Netherland's Karsten van der Tol (drums), Fräulein have marked themselves as a thrilling new force in alternative music, with their unique approach to lo-fi garage rock. 'Belly', the first single from an upcoming double a-side release, is packed with raw energy and fiery frustration.

“Belly is a song that is written around its lyrics," Joni explains. "I’m talking about how creativity can be bloody and exhausting for some people but really organic and energising for some others”.

The pair initially formed around Bristol in 2018, through a chance encounter at a friend’s jam night. As a duo, they continue to draw inspiration from a wide range of genres – including from trip-hop, grunge and Latin.

As well as being featured in the Hot Press A&R Department, ‘Pretty People’ earned a coveted spot on Spotify's Fresh Finds playlist, and recently got the seal of approval from BBC Radio 1’s Daniel P. Carter (The Rock Show) – who, after playing their debut single, said: “As soon as I heard it, it made me think immediately of ‘Dry’ or ‘Rid Of Me’ era PJ Harvey, which is an amazing thing to bring to mind”.

“We listen to a lot of material from the '70s and '90s which is all recorded to tape, but we also paid a lot of attention to Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, both of whom released solo albums last year that were recorded using analogue methods," Karsten comments. "We love those albums and the warmth that tape provided to the sound, which is something we wanted to create our own version of.

“Tape seemed like the most natural way to get the raw, rough round the edges sound we were after," he adds. "Which is why we paired up with Ben [Auld] and his TASCAM machine,".

Ahead of the official release of 'Belly' tomorrow, take a look at the lyric video below: