Farideh

"Be careful if you happen to be driving by Lydia's on January 10th - because just as the beautiful songs of the sirens almost caused Jason and his Argonauts to dash their ship upon the rocks, the beautiful voices of Farideh and (the) Dawne wafting out of the windows and into the street might just make you take out that hot dog cart in front of Lyd's with your car." - Craig Silliphant, Planet S, January 3-16th, 2008, Vol 6. Iss 10 - Planet S

"Femal folk-rock duo Farideh and the Dawne wasted no time getting established in the music biz. Farideh Olsen (guitar and vocals) and Teegan Jeffers (stand-up bass and vocals) first jammed in September.

Four days later, they had their first show in Alberta and an invitation to play L.A.

After 11 days they recorded their first demo. Now together all of four months, they're workin on their debut album and a West Coast tour. Playing Lydia's tonight, the duo promises 'soothin harmonies and hot licks'."

- Cam Fuller, Thursday, January 10th, 2008
- Saskatoon Starphoenix

Riding on the energy of her recently released second album, Symphony of Chemistry, Farideh (pronounced fair-a-day) has kept a steady pace tantalizing audiences from Toronto to Camrose, Alberta. Enticing her to come sing for Gabriolans has finally come to fruition with a performance slated for the Roxy on August 15th.
Riveted to my seat, or rockin’, I first heard Farideh play at a little club in Saskatoon last autumn. I was taken by surprise at her dynamite combination of a humorous take on some downer aspects of life through her vivid lyrics, compelling music and warmth charged clear, strong voice. She is an authentic, dynamic gal with a wry humor. That is where the sass comes in, just an edge of irreverence that may have something to do with coming from the contrasted harsh ice/hot dry land of the prairies. You can’t get too uptight about anything when you have lived through the barren, soul chilling winter. She’s come through 26 and it is all in her music.
Nurtured in a musical family in Saskatoon, Farideh’s penchant for singing and performance revealed itself early as she made any coffee table a stage to belt out a song. The girl is still finding her stage. She has cultivated the raw emotion, insight, humor and sometimes raunch that comes from loving, hurting … from just being a caring person in a crazy world who has an ability to reflect and translate her own unique story into music and song. Her music and song, like the prairie, is both sweet and fierce.
Farideh comes to Gabriola through an art connection of another kind. Her aunt, Joy Olsen is a sculptural ceramicist and part of the diverse art community here. Joy has lived away from Saskatchewan since her early 20’s and is just discovering Farideh in her performer mode. She says: “I’m blown away by her sensitivity and insight into life’s drama and her incredible ability to paint pictures through words and music… she carries you into her pictures.”
Farideh has been featured on CBC 2 and has lined up concerts into next year as far away as New Zealand. From the CBC 2 website she is described as: “…a fusion of folk and R&B, Farideh’s music is a tantalizing blend of tradition and invention with lyrics that excite the raw emotion in all of us”. Check out her website for a taste of her sound, music video, magazine reviews and more on her life: http://www.myspace.com/faridehmusic.
- August 15, 2009
- Zulis Yalte

MUSIC
New Sounds - Farideh

BRYAN BIRTLES

Farideh
Symphony of Chemistry
(Independent)

This album from Saskatoon’s Farideh is full of the everyday tribulations of life and love in a distinctly Canadian-prairie style that melds folk to bluegrass—and sometimes horns. A highlight is “Edgecliff Station,” about losing your job and moving back in with your parents, not being happy with your situation or the people around you. Bluegrass may be an exciting style, and folk can have its “up” bits, but I find that the best of both genres concentrates on the most sombre moments of life and is delivered like an exuberant bring down, which is exactly what Symphony of Chemistry pulls off.

Week of September 25, 2008, Issue #675 - Vue Weekly Edmonton

Saskatoon singer-songwriter Farideh is making her CD release a two-day affair with back-to-back shows at The Refinery. The artist's sophomore record, Symphony of Chemistry, is an evolution of her folk-based style.

Farideh said The Refinery is the perfect location for a comfortable performance that is centred around music.

"It's a different kind of evening because a lot of music in Saskatoon happens at about 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m. Because that takes place in places where people can talk and drink, the focus really isn't on the music."

Showtime on both Friday and Saturday is 8 p.m., with 7even Levels opening.

THE FACTS

Name pronunciation: Fair-ah-day.

Music style: Folk music fused with R&B.

Biggest influence: Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin.

Favourite song: Tiny Dancer by Elton John. I like to listen to it while lying down with my speakers aligning to my left and right ear. There's a whole procedure to it.

Favourite self-written song: We Were Lovers. It really became a whole new creature when I recorded it and added a horn section.

Proudest music moment: Finishing an album. It may not get to too many ears or it may not be a financial success but it's like finishing a marathon. You might finish in 892nd place, but you're, like, 'I finished that.'

Fashion style: From intense vixen-chic to small-town-jeans-wearing T-shirt girl. It depends whether I want to be noticed or not.

Describe your new album in five words: Snow, wind, sorrow, strength, caterpillars.

Most embarrassing music purchase: Most people are disgusted by Hanson and Cher but I'm still really proud of most of those CDs. I'm, like, 'Let's listen to MMMBop.'

Current musical obsession: Kathleen Edwards' new album and a renewed love of Dolly Parton.

- Stephani Classen, October 2, 2008 - StarPhoenix

Like many who grow up to be singer/songwriters, Farideh says she pretty much came out of the womb singing. While most little girls played house or imagined themselves to be fashionistas while dressing their Barbie dolls, Farideh spent most of her time on stage. Not a real stage, mind you, but the armrests of couches, the tops of coffee tables, any makeshift platform that she could climb onto, look out upon an imagined audience, and belt out songs (loudly, as her family will tell you). As she grew up, the make-believe stages turned to bona fide stages, and the songs became proper compositions.

"My dad", says Farideh, "Byron Olsen, played with lots of musicians around Saskatoon, including Crooked Creek, Wilma Groening and lots of others, so I was always encouraged to pursue this path and I was always surrounded by it. Growing up, kids my age just thought I was weird, so I spent lots of time alone listening to the oldies radio station. Writing, singing and playing guitar became [an] outlet for my loneliness and a way to gain acceptance."

It's easy to identify with Farideh's outsider status, but more importantly, the isolation that she refers to is wonderfully rendered in her music. Though most of the songs are simple acoustic ditties, their strengths lie in their effervescent melodies, clever lyrics and punctuating harmonies. Her stalwart yet beautiful voice plays the part of a ship on some lonesome ocean, carrying the listener through a journey of seclusion and spiritual renewal.

"My songs are about pain," Farideh laughs, "and there's nothing as brutal as love and a Saskatchewan winter."

Her latest album, Symphony of Chemistry, is being released this month, though Farideh herself wasn't sure if it would be ready for the self-imposed release date. After a five-year hiatus following the release of her first album, Seasons of Loving, Farideh had been putting off a new effort due to finances and the ever-expanding radius of funding rejections currently being suffered by Canadian artists. She realized that if she was ever going to make it happen, the time to end procrastination was nigh so she set the release date, and asked her father for help.

"My dad has a home studio in Ruddell," she says, "a small village near North Battleford. "He has engineered and produced a number of albums for a variety of Saskatchewan artists. He told me it was almost impossible to have the album finished by the October release date, and I agreed. We just about killed ourselves making this album."

During the weekdays, Farideh held a full-time job, and on weekends and the occasional evening, she would head to the studio in Ruddell to plug away at the recording. She'd written all the songs over the previous year, so it was a matter of crafting the arrangements to make the songs as tight as possible, and then hiring musicians to add their input and make the songs that much stronger. Every spare moment was put into recording the album to make the release date.

"My friends never saw me and my boyfriend thought he was in a long-distance relationship," says Farideh. "My father, being self-employed, essentially stopped eating since he was so involved in my project and I couldn't pay him. Dad also had the meticulous job of editing and mastering the album. I just sat back and told him what I liked and what I didn't. He put his ego aside for me and let me make a record that was my own, with the sounds and instrumentation that I wanted."

All their astonishing effort has culminated in Symphony of Chemistry. The album sports a straightforward, yet unforgettable, cover: a hot pink sleeve with a caribou that has a tree growing out of his head. It's eccentric, but also a sharp and modern twist on the prairie aesthetic.

"When I saw that caribou," Farideh says,"my heart exploded with joy and I knew he was the one. I thought, "Yes, this is exactly what music sounds like; a caribou with a tree on its head." Then I made it hot pink, because I'm a hot pink kind of gal."

Now that the album has hit the shelves (you can pick it up at CD Plus, McNally Robinson or The Vinyl Diner), we're going to see a lot more of Farideh onstage around town. After spending five years with music on the backburner, she's realized that it's a part of her that demands expression and she's eager to be heard.

"After my hiatus, I hadn't written a song or played guitar in a long time. I was terrified that those skills wouldn't come back. They did and that taught me that even when you aren't working on writing a song or playing guitar, somewhere inside of you, those talents are being nurtured and evolving. I need an outlet for my intense emotions; otherwise I just get depressed and feel numb. [The hiatus] taught me that I can't function without music as a part of my life."

- Craig Silliphant, October 9, 2008
- Planet S Magazine

Sept 11th, 2009
By Calvin Daniels

Once again 5th Ave Coffee Cup is offering an evening of music with recording soloists Mark Ceasar, formerly of Yorkton, and Farideh performing on Saturday.
Farideh will be promoting her recent CD release Symphony of Chemistry.

“I recorded this album last summer in Ruddell, Saskatchewan, a small village of 22 people on the way to North Battleford,” she said. “My dad lives there and has a recording studio, so we did the recording, mixing and mastering out there in the middle of nowhere. It was a great time, quiet and removed from my life. It allowed me to focus on my craft and create the best album possible.

“It was also a rough battle, since I was working full-time and having to spend evenings and weekends in the studio. That meant many nights with only three hours sleep. It was an exhausting and exhilarating experience.”

As a debut effort, Farideh said she is happy with the 13-song CD.
“I’m very happy with the finished product,” she said. “Doing the production and arranging on my album -- which few artists do -- I had the opportunity to stretch my creative muscles and gain confidence in my skills.”

Looking at the album Farideh noted, “my favorite track is Caterpillar. I loved arranging the horn lines and hearing it all come together in a very playful way. It was an artistic challenge that worked out really well.”

In preparing for the CD, Farideh said she is a writer who seeks out solitude in order to pen material.

“I write when I’m alone and no one can hear me,” she said. “The desire to write a song can come upon me very suddenly, and I usually seize that opportunity no matter where I’m supposed to be or what I’m supposed to be doing. Because when it’s gone, it’s gone, and a good song comes when it wants to.”

Farideh added she focuses on writing the whole song, not just getting words on paper to add music too later.

“I write my lyrics at the same time as I do the melody, because when I find a great melody I just naturally want to sing and then the words come out,” she said. “I love playing the guitar and lately I’ve been working with the banjo.”

When it comes to material, Farideh said she wants to write songs which resonate in their visions of everyday life.

“Mostly I’m inspired to write about relationships and people,” she said. “I began writing as an outlet to speak my truth and that is still why I write.”
It is a writing philosophy and process which meant coming up with material for the CD took time.

“The material for the album was written over two years during my travels, heartaches and happiness,” said Farideh.
Farideh said she grew up in Saskatchewan – mostly in Saskatoon, with music always part of her life.

“My father is a musician, so growing up I spent a lot of time following him around at rehearsals and shows,” she said. “I became a musician as a way to relate to the world and to express my thoughts and feelings in a very honest way.”
It has also been a way to express some of the feelings which have come from an opportunity to travel.

“I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to some pretty amazing places, like Australia, Africa and Israel. I think those experiences have had a big influence on my music in a lot of ways,” said Farideh.

While growing up with music, Farideh said her father was certainly a huge influence, although not her only one.
“The music I heard growing up has really stuck with me and been a big influence; my father playing guitar and singing roots & blues music in the house or with his bands, my mom listening to Bruce Coburn and Bonnie Raitt,” she said. “I also have a passionate love for Motown. All these influences come together in a mishmash to form my folk-R&B sound.”

Farideh will perform as a soloist in Yorkton, but also does shows with a band.

“Playing as a soloist gives a lot of freedom, but playing with a full band means you’ve got some punch behind you,” she said.

Having grown up with music, Farideh hit the stage herself early, and is well traveled in terms of live performance.
“I’ve been playing and performing since I was 14 years old and have had the opportunity to play some wonderful venues all over Canada,” she said. “Some highlights have been the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Ness Creek Music Festival, and not so close to home, the National Theatre of Uganda.” - Yorkton This Week