Following the September release of her album “Amulet,” Xenya Genovese — better known as Freak Slug — embarked on a North American tour for the second time this year. But it wouldn’t just be 18 headline shows in the span of a month. Nine shows in, she and the band flew back to Europe to make appearances at Pitchfork Festivals in Paris and London. Less than a week later, they were in the air again headed back to the U.S. to pick up where they left off.
In London, Genovese spoke about her latest record, the ongoing North American tour and what comes next for Freak Slug.
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Photo by Alice Palm
The following transcript was generated with transcription software and reviewed for accuracy. Minor errors or omissions may remain.
YY: You’re in the middle of a North American tour right now. You're back here for a week to play Paris and London, then you're back there again. Halfway through this North American tour, are you exhausted? Are you thriving?
XG: You know, I'm drinking a lot less on this tour and, fucking hell, it does so much wonders. It's crazy. Bro, I'm telling you now, like it's crazy how much alcohol makes touring three times harder and I've cut down and I've not been as going crazy. And that helps a lot, significantly. It's crazy. Honestly. It's wild. So yeah, it's been all right. You know touring is touring. It's tiring, but the shows are good and the fans make it worth it. Same as always. Nothing changes, trust me. Same old fucking shit. We love it.
And you're over there promoting the new album, right?
Yeah.
So, it came out in September and it was your second album in less than two years. You work pretty fast.
Well, basically I'm already about to write the third album now. I want to make it even faster turnover. That to me was fucking slow. I'm looking currently at an album per year now. I don't like how slow things take. I fucking hate it. At the end of the day, if you can't write 12 songs a year, you need to maybe check yourself. Do you know what I mean? It's not that hard. It's really not that hard. So I love writing music and I can't fucking get enough. To me, 12 songs a year is actually like, I'm starving, bro. I'm like a hungry, emaciated chicken on the streets, do you know what I mean? And I don't want to be that. I'd rather be a fat dog in a home, looked after and cared for by their parents. That's what I want to be.
You've said before that music is your preferred medium because of how immediate it is. You can just write a song and put it out.
I just like the emotion. It's just so clear and direct and I love exploring and feeling to music.
It was about only like 18 months prior to this record that your first album came out. You've mentioned you're already basically working on the third album.
Yeah, about to.
Were these songs already starting to take shape when your first album came out?
Nah, these were like a new fresh batch. But I've already started writing songs for the next lot. And I know what the concept is going to be. I'm not going to tell you, but I'm excited.
Why not?
Because I want to keep it private. I think it's good to keep things sacred, you know? But I would love to. I mean, I'm so gossip queen, trust me, I want to fucking gossip about it, but I know it's not the right thing to do.
Would you say that it's going to be a concept album?
There's a concept. Yeah.
And for this one you just released, of course there's a concept there, but is there like one through line that ties all those songs together?
From the last album? Yeah, it's about my past life as a healer in the Celtic lands, when women were being killed for being gifted. That's what it's about, the whole album.
Obviously that's a very distinct message, but were you writing in a way that leaves room for interpretation?
Of course. Like, at the end of the day, the world is still experiencing the ramifications of those horrific tragedies. And they seep into everyday life more than people are aware of. Like, women were taken away from communities who were helping heal people and were wise. And that wisdom was wiped away and taken from the children. That has a knock on effect forever. You know, when ancient wise women are taken away from society, you don't get that back. You have to start from fucking ground zero. Do you know what I mean? And that's where we are right now. We're experiencing the lack of feminine. And we're trying to rebuild that now. And the feminine is rising. We're gaining that power again. But it's taken a long time, because the thing that we're most incredible for is our intuition and our connection to nature and spirit. And if that wasn't acceptable, then now it is. And even women have forgotten who they are. So that's a really fucking horrible place to be. When I'm looking around and I'm seeing women who aren't in touch with themselves, who aren't in touch with spirit, who aren't in touch with nature, not in touch with the truth, with their own truth, the collective. That's a really challenging place to be. And that has a knock on effect to the men around us too. So we're all suffering together because of this thing that happened. It's really deep for me, at least. I look at it and I think, why is no one seeing this? It's really deep to me. And I have a lot to say about it, to be honest. And I don't think enough people talk about it. That's why I really wanted to spread this message with this album. It was really important to me.
So, you have a concept for this one, there's a concept for the next one. That will be revealed.
Yes, eventually. It's less deep. Don't worry. It's deep, but, you know.
A big thing about your first album was you had come into your own a little bit more. You were making music that meant more to you. It was maybe more of a representation of your true self, how you want to come through in your music as opposed to maybe you're really early stuff at the beginning.
So, basically what people don't realize is that I was self-producing some really fucking cool experimental grunge before I even made "Radio" and "Friday" with somebody else. That was a collaboration. And I've always been this bitch. Do you know what I mean? I've been fucking cool since day one, but I wanted to make pop music because I also wanted to fucking speed up the process, you know what I mean? And that's exactly what I did. I achieved what I wanted, and now it's like, okay, I've made it. I've made lo-fi music hi-fi, because that's what I was making before. Back in the day, I was using just whatever I fucking could with a minimal budget in my bedroom, making cool shit with a Mac microphone and singing through distortion amp on vocal. Anyway, whatever. So like, then I had to kind of go the other way, and I went so extreme with it. And that's what most people know me as, when actually it's not even really true, you know, because the truth is me alone, you know? And then when other people come into the mix, it dilutes me, Xenya, Freak Slug. So now even with "Amulet," it's like, okay, this is more me because I've had more power and control and been able to be like, nah, I don't fuck with that. This is me and this isn't me. Cut that, I hate that, do you know what I mean? And being more just like, nah, it's not me. And people who work with me love that because I know what I want and I know what or how I want to execute my art, and it's only just going to keep getting better. Working with the right people can help bring the best out of me, ultimately.
Any plans one day to release demos or acoustic versions of stuff that you've already done?
It's something that I could look into, because I did have a lot. "Amulet," I recorded a lot of demos just in my bedroom. And they are really cool, to be fair. So it's something to consider for sure. For sure, one day. If people give a fuck, do you know what I mean? Currently, I don't know if people give a fuck.
I mean, to some degree, I was reading a recent interview that you did where you said that you intentionally waited before you started releasing albums to be at a point where you were confident about the fanbase that you had built up.
I don't want to waste a body of work on nobody. Do you know what I mean? Like, that's just not sensible, you know? It's not smart. If you want to release an album, I don't think it's to like 30 people. Not like saying that it was only 30 people listening to my music. But it just felt right that that album came at that time.
Tonight, is it your last show before you go back to the U.S.? How did Paris go?
It was good. Yeah. Like, you know, I mean, it's all fucking shows at the end of the day, you get on stage, you rock out. Some stages are bigger than others. Some lights are better than others. That's just the fucking truth. Obviously, the fans are lovely. And I do love Paris, but yeah, that's the truth of it. It's just a show at the end of the day. And I love shows, don't get me wrong. and I think tonight will be good as well.
Yeah. So Paris yesterday, London today, back to the States. Why was it important to you to basically take a break from halfway through your North American tour to come all the way back here?
Mate, do you think I fucking did that? Honestly, trust me, I didn't.
I figured they had to have your permission at some point.
Basically, Pitchfork is not something we could have moved.
Well, sure.
And I needed to run this album tour before 2027. So yeah, it's a fucking fucked one, trust me. Me and the band are not exactly over the moon, but it is what it is. Sometimes you just can't change it, like it is just what me and my team decided was for the best, even though I did question it. But look, I mean, I trust in their decision that they thought that it was the right thing to do, and it is what it is. You know what I mean? Sometimes you have to do difficult things. People have children and have fucking no sleep for six months. Do you know what I mean? I'll be all right. Even though it's fucking horrible and painful being jet lagged. It is life, and it's part of the job. Part of being a musician is having no sleep. That is a fucked vibe. But it's true. Like, it challenges me because I love to look after my body and tour really challenges that, let's just say.
Yeah, you can't do music 100 percent if you're not going to be fully bought in to all of the stuff that comes with it.
People don't realize how taxing it is. It ruins your health, man. That's the problem, is like it actually ruins your health. Like sleep, food, travel, lack of movement, stress every night, possibly adrenaline. I mean, it's all the things that are a recipe for disaster, you know, long term. That's why I don't tour too much. And I've always said I'm never gonna overdo touring. I don't believe in that. I believe in looking after myself and longevity and health and wellness above all else.
Especially taking alcohol out of the mix. I'm sure that probably helps a lot.
Yeah, of course, of course. Yeah.
Well, what are you most looking forward to about the rest of your tour back in North America?
I don't look forward to things. That's the truth, you know? Like, I just live currently. Like, genuinely. I guess it's gonna be fun going to Mexico. I've never been there. So that's going to be nice. And I'm excited to write my new album, honestly, which is crazy because we're already talking about this album. But listen, I'm fucking off and on.
