Free Money have just dropped their new EP, aptly titled ’The Free Money’ EP. It’s five tracks of ballsy hooks and fizzing indie from a relentlessly enthusiastic band not long signed to Buff Records, a new label started by Dan from Tribes and Blaine from Mystery Jets. Frontman Harry Edwards fills us in.
Hey “Harry Money”, how’s it going?
Hey Dork, it’s going good thanks.
Why “Free Money”, then? It’s a super awkward name for the internet.
Tell me about it, when we first started our emails kept going into everyone’s spam folder, and we thought no one was interested!
Originally it was just something catchy that we all agreed upon. We knew it had potential to play around with but that stuff only really came afterwards.
How did you guys meet and end up in a band together?
Three of us met at art school, and the fourth most recent came to us in a moment of true serendipity.
Can you remember the first song you wrote? Is it still in your repertoire?
With the guys in the band I think the first song we wrote together was called ‘Winter High’, Sam [Chapman, guitar] and I wrote it in his bedroom at uni and then showed it to the others, that’s kind of how it all began actually. Not the Free Money project but the start of the collaborative musical journey.
I think the first song I ever wrote was when I was around 15 on my guitar; I seemed to remember it being called ‘Backseat’ – it was a breakup song.
Did you have a musical upbringing?
My parents weren’t musical, but I was fascinated from a really early age, I think after much pestering my parents got me a cheap small scaled guitar, I must have been around 5 and our neighbour showed me a few things. Then I played the drums in the school band and the saxophone and then started playing electric guitar when I was about 12 or 13 I think.
What was the first record you bought?
Sum 41 ‘Fat Lip’, the single. I think it was a double A-side with ‘In Too Deep’. I got it from Woolworths on CD for about 1 or 2 quid. I think I bought Afroman’s ‘Because I Got High’ at the same time or shortly after.
What do you do for fun?
Go dancing, of course.
What would you most like to achieve during your music career?
That’s a tough one, and I think it’s constantly changing, it would be amazing if we didn’t all have to have jobs as well as do the band. But I think it’s important to keep asking yourself if your happy with the music you’re making, because otherwise what’s the point!
What’s been the highlight of your time as a musician so far?
The whole damn journey.
How did you end up working with Buff Records?
We met the guys through a friend initially, they like our stuff so, and we liked them, there’s great chemistry between us, we have lots of fun in the studio, and they’ve been so supportive, they’ve really helped us grow as artists, having that amount of varied experience around has been invaluable.
Tell us about your new EP, what’s it about? How did it come together?
‘The Free Money’ EP. It’s about love, friendship, change, growing, good times in bad times, sunshine and boogie. We recorded it at Buff Records HQ earlier this year.
What’s on your bucket list for 2019?
I suppose it would be quite nice to make an album.
Free Money play London’s Sebright Arms on 6th December.
