News / Freddie Lewis
Meet the trans musician shattering gender stereotypes
“I don’t write about gender as much since my first single – because my life is so much more than that,” Freddie Lewis says over a coffee in the Tobacco Factory café.
Poet, singer and artist Freddie first began writing songs as a child, drawing inspiration from his grandparents who were musicians.
He continues: “My Nana ran the WI choir, so she was probably my main in to music. We used to see musicals as a family, and then when I was nine or ten I started writing songs – which were obviously so awkward.”
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It was during his school days that Freddie found solace in songwriting, touching on love, loss and his ongoing relationship with gender.
“I used to get home from school, which was an all girls grammar school, and write quite depressing, sad songs about my experiences there,” he explains.
“I didn’t fit in really – not just about being trans as I had no idea what trans was then. But it was then that I started struggling with it.”
“I had a couple years where I was at home because of my mental health, and that’s when I mostly got into writing.
“It was the only thing I kept doing when I was off school. I wasn’t very good at going out and social situations but I did have a Saturday job in a music store.”
Now 22 and a graduate in songwriting from BIMM Bristol, Freddie has gone on to release EPs, an album and curate an art exhibition.
His latest release, Bell Jar, named after Sylvia Plath’s novel of the same title, combines indie, jazz and pop.
Speaking about the song, Freddie says: “It’s about self-declaration and setting my own expectations for myself.
“When I first came out, I felt very pressured to label myself and felt like it defeated the point to go from one box to another. For some people that works, but for me I found it containing.”
“Bell Jar is about letting go of that, enjoying myself and prioritising my pleasure and my desire.”
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The single was accompanied by an exhibition hosted at Dareshack, inspired by the lyric ‘Paint myself a pale pink work of art’.
Pale Pink Works of Art brought together a host of locally commissioned pieces, as well as works from LGBTQ+ British artists.
In the decade Freddie has been creating music, his works have moved in line with his evolving perception of gender and identity – from it being constraining to comforting.
He says: “When I used to write about gender, it was very much about my experience with it. But now I am exploring the wider theory or societal concept of it.
“I used to deeply believe that gender had some intrinsic value to me, or some belonging sense. But now when I write about it, it’s more looking outward rather than inward.
“I think trans people are often put in a role of education or explanation and I just don’t want to do that.
“Nowadays, I am writing music for myself. If you write music with other people in mind, you’re always going to miss out on something.”
Now I write myself for myself, says Freddie
To explore Freddie’s work, visit www.linktr.ee/freddie_lewis
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
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