Words by George Gray
Explosive, disruptive and carefree, but above all, her “own ***ing person”. Music has always played a strong part in Freak Slug’s creative identity. It’s carried her through personal loss, years of hard graft and international moves, but on the artistic path she began at only 5 years old, it was certainly not the goal.
Initially an artist focused on painting and drawing, the musical alter-ego of Xenya Genovese, Freak Slug, has only recently emerged, carving a unique path to her debut album, “I Blow Out Big Candles”.
It was clear from the start of our chat, to Xenya, prioritising emotions and personal experiences both when finding and producing music is fundamental. “I’m not influenced by anyone else, I want this music to be an expression of my feeling only”, and it’s clear to see in her work with the emotion of each song on the album palpable. Xenya also added, “I’m a big believer in following the natural flow of things”, so her organic transition from physical art to music is hardly surprising.
This instinct led approach seems core to her philosophy. She even admits it was by chance she met Niquo, who she worked closely with to really kickstart Freak Slug, “things fell into place”, she recounted, “maybe I’m lucky”.
Quickly reflecting, Xenya changed her mind though, “I’m pretty blase, but not lucky, I’m an intuitive person when it comes to meeting people”, urging that it was a part of something built deeper into her character from a young age. “I’m a really driven person, but next-level driven when it comes to art”, adding in school despite misbehaving in class, she was always disciplined when it came to art. “Free time meant time in the art studio, any ***ing chance I got”.
She swears it’s this philosophy that has allowed her to stay individual, taking large inspiration from the strong characters of her parents. “I was always told if there’s a rule that doesn’t make sense to you, then don’t do it”, hammering home the message “no one can tell me what to do”.
At this point it was clear to me that she’d cultivated a natural drive, that it wasn’t blase luck but rather the high expectations and joy that’d given way to her unorthodox journey. A spiritual character, Xenya strongly believes in trusting the process, and not succumbing to the pressure of others “it should never be difficult if you trust what you’re supposed to do…people need to realise and believe their dreams should be prioritised”.
This gritty attitude and self-belief is reflected in the layered sounds of the album, and Xenya shared that it was a large inspiration behind it. “I never look for influence from other artists, all of that is influenced by my personal experience, impulses and view of the world”. An unorthodox way of making music, but Xenya reveals it’s rooted in her lack of classical training and study of music theory.
“I love finding sounds, chord progressions and vibes in music that evoke emotion rather than artists or styles, and I’m very particular about them,” Xenya revealed. With this in mind, she aims to make her production process as natural as possible, “there’s little rules to it, I want to get the basics right and then challenge those in the studio around me”.
Collaboration like this is one thing Xenya seems to value. Through it she prioritises her own personal ideas, whilst simultaneously building off other co-writers and producers, to craft a genre-breaking sound instead of forcefully finding influence from other artists.
“What keeps Freak Slug individual to me are the vocals”, she adds, confessing the lyrics of each song leave her personal satirical stamp. Purposefully juxtaposing bass lines with contrasting vocals, at times light and silly, and others dry and sardonic. Xenya, giddy as she reveals this, gives us two examples in Friday and Ya Ready. Both emotionally charged songs off the album that conceal their true meaning via her playful lyrical style she reveals.
This attitude that lyrics should be expressionist, controlled by personal emotions and not industry theory, seems core to Xenya’s style, and on lyrics she really stands on business. “No dilly-dallying, lyrics have to be written parallel to the music, it’s vital it’s shaped perfectly together all as one”. So it’s hardly surprising some of the album’s most emotionally charged songs were written in under half an hour.
That said Xenya recognised it’s not always been easy, both as a female artist and an outsider, at times struggling to believe others would share the passion for her music. “When I started, I made a tactical decision to make pop tunes and grab a quick audience”, she conceded, “so to me this new album is a return home to stripped back and raw, dissident sounds”, pride glowing across her face.
As we wrap up Xenya jokingly tells me she’d love the debut album to do well, “it’s called I Blow Out Big Candles for a reason”, but clearly reflecting on her struggles, concludes that if she really had one goal it’d be to help others through the emotion of her music. “I’m very spiritual, whatever will be, will be with my music, but I’d love to help people however I can, the music’s just a platform for that”. A grounded artist, with immense self-belief and little care for the industry, “Freak Slug” is definitely one to watch.
