Exclusive Interview with ‘Ellery Twining’

by Gabe Finch August 27, 2022

August 27, 2022

Exclusive Interview with 'Ellery Twining'

Recent releases by Rich Freitas as Ellery Twining include “REVENGE,” his first solo album.
The first single from the album, ‘WEATHERALL,’ now has a video thanks to mystic photographer Michelle Gemma.

James Canty, who edited the video, is known for his work on Spiritualized’s “Out of Sight” and Catfish and the Bottlemen’s well-known “Hourglass” music video with Ewan McGregor.

Rich Freitas wrote the songs for “REVENGE” at the same time that he was paying tribute to British producer/DJ Andrew Weatherall in the song and music video. Checkout his single ‘WEATHERALL’ and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how you got started?
ELLERY TWINING:
My name is Rich Freitas, but I record under the alias of Ellery Twining. I live in the riverside village of Mystic, CT. There is a psychic vortex here that runs through the center of the river, continuing beneath Fisher’s Island, out to toward Montauk. This realization created the courant of REVENGE.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
ELLERY TWINING:
I remember being petrified that my 5th grade music teacher would deny me a place in the elementary school band. I would eventually secure a spot on the snare line during my sophomore year in High School.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘ELLERY TWINING’?
ELLERY TWINING:

The Cure / third row, 1989.
REM at the height of their power / 1986
I paid $4.00 to see Ziggy Marley four times in one week.
I was at Coney Island for Daft Punk 2007
Spiritualized Albert Hall 1997
Mavis Staples Live in London / Ridgefield Playhouse 2019
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
ELLERY TWINING:
The idea that the narrative can be upended.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as FOLK?
ELLERY TWINING:
I decided during the outset of REVENGE that I would challenge myself, and to not replicate the
musical achievements of my past.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?
ELLERY TWINING:

Entertainment is a dead end. Music can still
be a liberating element.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
ELLERY TWINING:
As Burroughs said / what is at the end of yr fork?
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
ELLERY TWINING:
The most important element to me is a commitment to the song. The Song is everything.
9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
ELLERY TWINING:
1992

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
ELLERY TWINING:
REVENGE

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