When we first heard Frenzee’s scroll-stopping “UNAPOLOGETICALLY ME,” we were immediately obsessed. We dug a little deeper, found their other singles “KEEP COMIN MY WAY” and “JACK OF ALL TRADES,” and were all in. Then the story got even better.
Turns out Frenzee are three siblings with a shared love of punk and a pretty incredible family history in traditional Cretan music. Born in Australia and raised in Crete, Apollonia, Nick, and Adonis grew up surrounded by traditional music alongside a steady diet of punk, grunge, and rock.
The three have been playing music together since they were kids, and their new album RUNNIN AMOK is proof that keeping it in the family can be a pretty great idea. With the record out, an upcoming tour with Lambrini Girls, and a stadium show opening for Foo Fighters on the horizon, the future looks bright.
We caught up with Apollonia to talk about family, life between Australia and Crete, making stop-motion videos, their nine rescue dogs, and what's next.
Thanks for doing this! You were born in Australia, grew up in Crete, and seem to move pretty naturally between those two worlds. Where feels most like home now?
Both feel like home! Crete definitely more so, having grown up there and everything. But we did live in Melbourne during our teen years, living there for about seven years or so. So, we’re lucky we’re able to call both home.
You come from a family with this incredible history in traditional Cretan music. Does any of that find its way into Frenzee, even if it isn’t immediately obvious in the music?
Yeah, I think growing up in the Cretan trad music scene has played a big role in our work ethic. The shows last all night, going for six to eight hours, so growing up with our father playing these shows full time since he was a teenager has definitely shaped our mindset around gigging. I reckon it’s given us stamina and made us wanna gig as much as possible!
Growing up, was your family taking you to shows and exposing you to all kinds of music from an early age?
Yeah, they were. Any given opportunity, both our parents would take us to gigs.
Do you remember some of the first records or artists that set you on the musical path you’re on now?
Yeah, it was our mum who bought us CDs or introduced us to bands she loved. Amongst them being AC/DC, RATM, Prodigy, Nirvana, Hole, Blondie, Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion, White Stripes, Bikini Kill and heaps more.
And simultaneously we'd listen to traditional Cretan, Irish, Turkish. A lot of the live music around us was mostly trad music.
You’re three siblings in a band, which sounds either ideal or completely insane. What’s the best and worst part of making music together?
We've been playing music together since we were really little and love it! We wouldn’t have started a band together otherwise.
Did you ever consider just calling the band Xylouris? Ha! Pretty sick band name.
Nick and Adonis' trad Cretan band is already called that haha.
Xylourides (which means multiple Xylouris').
We have to ask about the dogs! Are those your dogs on the flyers? What’s the story there? All your art is so good!
Our life is actually ruled by dogs. No joke, we own nine dogs between the three of us, haha. Crete has a serious problem with strays so we’ve taken in as many as we can. This is also a big part of why Crete is our home base. The dogs! A lot of the lyrics from the new album have dog references too, that just happened naturally. When we were shooting for the album cover, this photo of my two hunting dog sisters stood out and we all immediately agreed that that’s the shot. Special mention to our friend Katerina Kerouli for shooting the killer photo.
When you look back at the band in the “Sane To Insane” video and compare it to Frenzee now, what’s been the biggest change?
I’d say there’s been an overall change in the music. Everything’s gone more melodic in this album, which has been fun for all of us. I’ve been loving singing a little more.
“KEEP COMIN’ MY WAY,” “UNAPOLOGETICALLY ME” and “JACK OF ALL TRADES” have been on repeat. Is there a full-length album on the way?
Yeah, we just released RUNNIN AMOK! It’s available everywhere, go check it out.
Photo: Photos by JULIEN SITRUK
Apollonia, you directed the “KEEP COMIN’ MY WAY” video yourself, which is so good. Where did the claymation idea come from, and how insane was it to actually make?
I’ve always loved stop-motion animation and ended up studying it at uni. I've always wanted to make music videos! So, this was an opportunity to do that. I had some time off that summer so I just set up a little animation studio at home and dedicated my summer to it. Building the puppets, sets and props took the most time. The whole process took about three months. I’m currently working on another one for a different band, so it’s definitely something I wanna push to do more and more of.
“Unapologetically Me” feels almost like a mission statement. What was happening when you wrote that song?
I feel like the lyrics for “Unapologetically Me” were something I needed to hear at the time we were writing it. I reckon it’s real easy to get sucked into comparing yourself, your music to others with social media being such a big part of being a muso or whatever these days. Or always copping unwanted opinions or advice from people that think they know better or anything like that. Which happens A LOT as a woman in the music industry. So, “Unapologetically Me” was a great reminder to myself and to everyone who needs to hear it. Fuck 'em! Just be you.
There’s always been an amazing music scene in Australia, but it feels particularly exciting right now. Are there any bands, artists or scenes there that you feel particularly connected to?
Yeah, it’s popping off with amazing bands! And a great music community. Especially in Melbourne, where we spend our time. Everyone is so supportive, excited and committed to the scene! It’s so sick. Heaps of bands we feel particularly connected to. Just a couple of them being Salmon Sisters and Where’s Jimmy, which are also playing multiple gigs with us on our National Aus tour coming up!
You’re about to open for Foo Fighters at Marvel Stadium, which is fucking huge. How did that come about, and what was the reaction when you found out?
I know, so hectic! We were approached by their booking agency at a Frenzee gig that they came to and then contacted us a couple weeks later to do the gig! I was on my way to a mate's wedding and our manager called to tell us. We lost the plot obviously, it still hasn’t sunk in that we'll be playing a stadium gig! Very exciting.
Any plans to come over and play in America?
No current plans but hoping to make it over soon! Very keen to come over your way!
With the world feeling pretty insane at the moment (at least in America), what are some things you do to keep yourselves sane?
I guess we try to focus on our health whenever we have the time to. When we’re not touring or when the boys aren’t super busy with the trad shows, we all try to work out, stay active, cook and eat well and all that. To be fit for gigging and touring. Also, we try to stay creative, work on new music or animate or whatever we’re into at the time. Having so many dogs around is endless entertainment too, ha! They always manage to cheer you up.
What’s a hill you’d die on?
Any Cretan hill with a view of the sea.
Have you or the band had a “happened for a reason” moment recently — something that felt like a setback at the time but ultimately worked out for the best?
Can’t think of a particular one but it’s definitely happened a few times. The boys being so busy with their Cretan trad music career means we’ve had to turn down many great offers for gigs and festivals. BUT it wasn’t the end of the world. We feel like everything is moving at a great pace for us so we don’t regret anything in our decision-making! Having control over it all too helps us feel confident in our movements.
Photo: Chris Kroll
Outside of music, what’s been inspiring you most lately?
The people and the places we get to meet and see when on tour are always a massive inspiration! We love the fact that we get to travel so much with our band.
Is there someone you’d like to collaborate with, either within music or outside of it — art, film, politics, or something else entirely?
Giorgos Lanthimos. Favourite film director at the moment, it would be a dream getting to work with him in some shape or form.
Lastly, can you give us a few Good Calls — an artist, record, film, book, place, food, or anything else you think people should know about right now?
The book “BUTTER” by Asako Yuzuki.
Follow Frenee on IG at @frenzee.band
