The debut single ‘LUNGS’ from Freyja Elsy - an epic, yet introspective look at the end of a relationship.

“This gave me goosebumps that haven’t subsided since I first heard it … Off-the-scale evocative” 
- Adam Walton BBC Radio Wales

Freyja Elsy is an independent singer songwriter and composer with a nomadic past and a sound that pushes into the future. Creating songs with a keen ear whilst pursuing music education, she found herself within the vibrant, engaging Cardiff scene. Through both outside musical influence and internal personal conflict she started to establish a clear identity, forging a path forward to create ‘Lungs’, her first single.

Based around very real, very intimate voice recordings, ‘Lungs’ starts small and reserved, fragile in its form and structure. The track slowly unfolds and develops into rising crescendos alongside uncompromising percussion. A mixture of glitchy synthesisers and rising strings interweave around Elsy’s voice, which sits unwavering and steadfast. Her bold lyrics are strong in the face of a contrasting anguish found in the recordings nestled within the music.  

With other musical endeavours in the form of collaborations within the band Blue Amber, alongside orchestral compositions performed by members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and thematic interludes created for commercial use - this single is her first, strikeout release and sets the course for a prolific career ahead.

LYRICS:

“Okay, I’m gonna voicenote because um… I think it’s probably just easier just to brain splurge rather than type because there’s just so much… stuff that doesn’t seem very logical in my head and I can’t string it together in a sentence...Um, and also...there’s people who aren’t here today so I can be quiet and just talk for a bit…”

Chorus:

I’ve tried so hard
Time and time again
Maybe this time 
It won’t feel so bad
But I know, I know, 
I’ve heard every love song under the sun
And I know, he knows, 
He’s the same.

“I think I’m struggling with the idea of… don’t… don’t throw away what’s not broken, but at the same time … it’s not okay...anymore? It’s not been okay for a while, and I think it all came out.”

Verse 1:

Over there, to your left, there’s a girl
She’s remembering what it’s like to be alive:
She’s searching, again and again for love. 
She’s searching, again and again for love. 

Chorus: 

I’ve tried so hard
Time and time again
Maybe this time 
It won’t feel so bad
But I know, I know, 
I’ve heard every love song under the sun
And I know, he knows, 
He’s the same.

“And there were really, really good times...and… I, I… I feel really heartbroken and I can’t… I don’t think I can do this to myself anymore.”

Verse 2:

What about the gifts he left? 
The oil lamp did wonders for your lungs. 
And the names, he gave you, to try:
You could be everything, anyone, he wanted and more. 

Chorus: 

I’ve tried so hard
Time and time again
Maybe this time 
It won’t feel so bad
But I know, I know, 
I’ve heard every love song under the sun
And I know, he knows, 
He’s the same.

“He thinks that I’m just gonna… Just carry on as usual… I think. ‘Cause he’s so used to me putting him first, he’s not used to… not getting what he wants.”

Chorus: 

I’ve tried so hard
Time and time again
Maybe this time 
It won’t feel so bad
But I know, I know, 
I’ve heard every love song under the sun
And I know, he knows, 
He’s the same.

Lungs

Requiem

With her third single ‘GOLDEN HOUR’ Freyja Elsy captures the warmth and joy in embracing change.

Freyja Elsy is an independent songwriter and composer who produces layered, striking music from her home studio in Cardiff. Incorporating both pop technique and classical influence under her own momentum and direction, she has already released two well received singles - ‘Lungs’ in April 2021 and ‘Requiem’ in May 2022. Her third single ‘Golden Hour’ encapsulates the nervous joy that comes with change and seeking the strength and bravery to take a different path.

‘Golden Hour’ - the time in which an amber glow emerges from the sun rising or setting - alludes to the developments, growth and transitions of life. These transformations can be met with positivity for a new beginning or a fear of stepping out into the unknown. Experimenting with vocal chopping alongside deep harmonies, Elsy constructs a warm sonic bath of piano, strings and synthesisers around lilting melodies and uplifting crescendos.

Previous singles ‘Lungs’ and ‘Requiem’ drew praise, coverage and radio play internationally - including BBC 6Music. On ‘Lungs’ the BBC’s Adam Walton said: “This gave me goosebumps that haven’t subsided since I first heard it … off-the-scale evocative” and for ‘Requiem’ Circuit Sweet said of Elsy: “A classic composer on all levels with an understanding of connection within their creations.”

- Ends -

Contact artists@eltmusic.co.uk for more

LYRICS: 

Verse 1: 
Old coffee rings,
And a light orange glow,
Dark foggy clouds,
Casting shadows on the floor
 
Oh tiny world,
Soul of steel, your iron core
Cling to the edge
Honey gold held in these threads
 
Pre Chorus:
My cup overflowed,
Water, it ran empty,
Grief for the light at rest
Relief for the pain in my chest
 
Chorus:
Golden hour,
So take us forward,
Golden hour

Verse 2:
My body shakes,
Let the tremors burn inside
The depths changing shape
Illuminated on the tide
 
It's not enough
To stand by oceans still
But fear is mine,
The fear is mine to kill

Pre Chorus:
My cup overflowed,
Water, it ran empty
Grief for the light at rest
Relief for the pain in my chest
 
Chorus:
Golden hour,
So take us forward,
Golden hour
 
Bridge:
Take haste in serenity
But I'll hold onto the patience so tenderly
Sunlight rains on the other side
And I'll wait, I'll wait...

Chorus:
Golden hour, 
Golden hour, 
So take us forward, 
Golden hour

Golden Hour

Cue for Short Film Pitch. 

Transition cue. Sad, melancholic, anxious. 

Written and recorded by Freyja Elsy
November 2022

BW TRANSITION - Freyja Elsy

Salem - Freyja Elsy
Modern Artifice (2023)

LYRICS: 
Verse 1 
Enter the room
Forgotten
Lift me above
The others
I’ll bring down the heavens
For you, for you

Verse 2
Constructed from birth
A “woman”,
Tending the ground
Untrodden
I’ll bring down the heavens 
On you, for you

Chorus (x 2)
Darling, don’t be afraid, 
In the dark, I’m waiting, 
Suffocating
What do you mean, you hate it? 
You built this cage that I’m laid in. 

Verse 3
Spirits will hide 
Around corners
Waiting for her
To restore us
We’ll bring down the heavens
On you, on you

Verse 4
Inside the lines
Discovered, 
Tenets divine, 
Uncovered
They’ll bring down the heavens
On you, on you

‘Cause the page was a blade with my name on it 

Chorus (x 2)

Verse 5
Collective aligned, 
Arisen
Ego defied, 
Unforgiven
We’ll bring down the heavens, 
On you, on you

Instrumental/Bridge
I hate it
I hate it
I hate it
What do you mean,
What do you mean,
You hate it? 
You hate it? 
I hate it. 

Chorus x 2

Lyrics by Freyja Elsy
Composed by Freyja Elsy & Kumar Chopra
Guitar performed by Kumar Chopra
Mixed & Produced by Freyja Elsy
Mastered by Charlie Francis

Copyright: Freyja Elsy 2023

Salem

Limerence - Freyja Elsy
Modern Artifice (2023)

LYRICS:

Verse 1
Remember how lost we’ve been 
We’re lonely people in the city

Drinking and breathing the diamond dust
Don’t leave me when I’m dreaming in the city 

Chorus
Our towers of fire are
Standing over 
‘Cause I want to know you

Verse 2
Lights guide my way to you
Hands shaking as I cross the room
Embers in your eyes
Reflecting the ache of my

Chorus
Heart 
Let flames break through
‘Cause I want to know you

Verse 3
Will you meet me there? 
Under the fires in the sky
Peace lie down with me
Be the mirror of my 

Chorus
Heart 
And break in two 
‘Cause I want to know you

Bridge
Remember how lost we’ve been 
We’re lonely people in the city 
You know I’ve tried
I’ve tried to keep the whispers out of view
Shadows on my back 
Hidden deep 
Midnight blue
But with you 
I can’t hide the ache of my 

Chorus
Heart
And break in two 
‘Cause I want to know you 


Lyrics by Freyja Elsy
Composed, Mixed & Produced by Freyja Elsy
Mastered by Charlie Francis

Modern Artifice

Limerence

Over It - Freyja Elsy
Modern Artifice (2023)

LYRICS:
Stand at the windowsill
Let the light in
Don’t talk too loud
In the middle of the room

Be your own person
Speak when you’re spoken to
Have your own thoughts
But follow with the rest of us

Be successful
Make a lot of progress
Are you sure you want that? 
There’s other people waiting. 

Calm your emotions
You’re so unstable
Do some meditation
Take your pills, get on with it. 

Stand at the windowsill
Let the light in
Don’t talk too loud 
In the middle of the room

Be your own person
Speak when you’re spoken to 
Have your own thoughts
But follow with us. 

Be successful
Make a lot of progress
I’m not sure I want that… 

Calm your emotions
You’re so unstable
Do some meditation 
Get o - it
Get o - it
O - it

Stand at the windowsill 
Let the light in 
Don’t talk too loud. 
Don’t talk too - 

Be your own person 
Speak when you’re spoken to
Have your own thoughts
But follow with us. 

Be successful
Make a lot of progress
I’m not sure I want that… 

Calm your emotions
You’re so unstable 
Do some meditation 
Get o - it
Get o - it
O - it

Stand at the windowsill 
Let the light in 
Don’t talk too loud
Don’t talk too - 
Don’t talk too - 

"And you have no objections to working on weekends? 
Oh not at all. My time is completely my own."

Lyrics: Freyja Elsy
Composed, Produced & Mixed by Freyja Elsy
Mastered by Charlie Francis

Over It

Sad Girls - Freyja Elsy
Modern Artifice (2023)

Chorus
Imagine the mountains I’ll move
When I find my own peace of mind
Drag my hands, across the lines on my face, 
In my own time
The city I withstand
Sits righteous in my hand

Verse 1
Every day my pained reflection
In their happiness, my affliction
Billboard grab my attention 
Somebody else’s new invention 
I know that sound
Sad girls make the world go round

Verse 2
The empty space inside me
Fills a void that haunts me
“How could you be more lonely?”, 
Spoke a voice, so holy - 
It stretches at my skin, 
“Go on, let it in”

Chorus
But imagine the mountains I’ll move
When I find my own peace of mind
Drag my hands, across the lines on my face, 
In my own time. 
Momentary pain, 
In the echoes of my name. 

Verse 3
I’ll pay with time like money
Soak the skin with honey
And when I pay for my dreams
Remember what you told me? 
“They won’t survive,
If you’re over 25.”

Verse 4
You yearn for my affection
Missed calls and missed connections
I’ll drink to my destruction, 
Disrupt the youth production, 
And you make me cry every time
Every time
Every time

Chorus
But imagine the mountains I’ll move
When I find my own peace of mind
Drag my hands, across the lines on my face, 
In my own time. 
The city I withstand, 
Sits righteous in my hand

Bridge
But now, my world is raging 
Inside, right behind
These dark eyes
And in time, 
I’ll walk a bolder line
Sated, and satisfied
In your silence
Right behind
These dark eyes

Chorus
And imagine the mountains I’ll move
When I find my own peace of mind
Drag my hands, across the lines on my face, 
In my own time. 
Momentary pain, 
In the echoes of my name

Lyrics by Freyja Elsy
Composed by Freyja Elsy & Kumar Chopra
Mixed & Produced by Freyja Elsy
Mastered by Charlie Francis

Sad Girls

All Cues for Just Friends (2024)
Composed by Freyja Elsy

Short Film directed by Rebs Fisher-Jackson

Just Friends (2024)

Just Friends (2024) - All Cues - Freyja Elsy

Live After Death (2023)
All Cues composed by Freyja Elsy

Directed by Rebs Fisher-Jackson

Live After Death (2023)

Live After Death (2023) - All Cues - Freyja Elsy

I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt cover) - Freyja Elsy
Live @ The Table

Vocals: Freyja Elsy
Guitar: Nathan Warnes
Drums: Ben Hunt

I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt cover) - Freyja Elsy (live)

Momentum for Wind Quintet by Freyja Elsy

Performed by the BBC NOW Wind Quintet.

Photo by Daniel Bickerton

Momentum:
noun
noun: momentum; plural noun: momenta
The energy and driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events.

Inspired by the third movement “Allegro grazioso” from Gyorgy Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet, this piece uses variations on minimal pitch material to create a sense of development and movement, shared between each of the 5 performers throughout the piece. Interjections of melody with moments of accompanying ostinato appear towards the middle, and duets are shared between the flute, oboe, and clarinet, with punctuating chords from the bassoon and horn. With the accompaniment in the final third taking on almost a perfect palindromic structure from the first third of the piece, including variations on melody heard previously throughout, the music gradually dies away as each of the instruments slowly disappear, until only the singular flute staccato notes, reminiscent of the opening, remain.

© Freyja Elsy Music 2019

Momentum for Wind Quintet - Freyja Elsy (performed By BBC NOW)

“This gave me goosebumps that haven’t subsided since I first heard it … off-the-scale evocative” - BBC's Adam Walton on 'Lungs'

“A classic composer on all levels with an understanding of connection within their creations.” - Circuit Sweet

Cinematic Folktronica, Trip Hop, Electro-Pop
Composer // Producer // Singer-Songwriter based in Cardiff.

Freyja Elsy

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