From Pop Charts to Court Jesters: The Inspiration Behind Haute & Freddy’s Ingenuity

Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp know how to build a track from the ground up. Now, as synth-pop meets 18^th Century duo Haute & Freddy, they are demonstrating the importance of an immersive artistry.

Stream: “Freaks” – Haute & Freddy

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It’s all coming from a place of freedom and rebellion, and fashion…

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Amidst a sea of micro shorts and pashmina hoods is a front-row packed with lip-syncing retrophiles.

These are members of “The Royal Court,” and Haute & Freddy are their devoted jesters.

This baroque-inspired pop duo is an unlikely find at Portola. Haute’s orange hair was gathered into horns, her hands hidden by crochet gloves, and her arms swallowed up by leg-of-mutton sleeves. Her counterpart wore culottes, a red cape, and a hat Captain Hook would have killed for.

Freaks - Haute & Freddy — single art for Haute & Freddy’s latest single, “Freaks”

The characters behind the costumes are Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp, songwriters for A-listers turned eccentric performers that juxtapose synth-pop with a traveling carnival aesthetic.

They know how to build a track from the ground up. Now, they are now demonstrating the importance of an immersive artistry.

First and foremost, Buzz and Shipp are fans of music. Buzz’s eyes go wide with excitement at my mention of David Bowie and Shipp details his fascination with all sounds weird and freaky. They did not build this world on accident. It is an exercise in juxtaposition: Soft, breathy reverb against sharp, jagged, synth hooks, the sounds of futuristic pop contra an homage to the exhibitions of the 18^th Century.

This is a spectacle they enjoy both on and off stage. The duo bounces around the media tent the same way they bounced around the pier: Fully committed, contagiously cheerful, and encouragingly freaky. Atwood Magazine recently sat down on a stained couch with Haute & Freddy at Portola Music Festival to discuss the inspiration behind the ingenuity.

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:: stream/purchase Freaks here ::

:: connect with Haute & Freddy here ::

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Stream: “Freaks” – Haute & Freddy

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A CONVERSATION WITH HAUTE & FREDDY

Atwood Magazine: We need to talk about you forefathers. Glam rockers like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and Kate Bush come to mind.

Michelle Buzz: The fusion of obscure and groundbreaking songs with fashion… Especially Bowie, the way the costumes were happening, no one had seen that before. Or even now. It’s so powerful and it’s the element of escapism. It’s a big part of what inspires us.

Speaking of Bowie, he had many personas. How do you define your relationship with this “18^th Century run-away carnie” vision?

Michelle Buzz: The baroque is one little piece of us. But it’s so rooted in disruption and freakism. It’s not really rooted in a time period. I think we can ebb and flow, like the “Freaks” video for example. It’s all coming from a place of freedom and rebellion, and fashion.

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What itch did songwriting not scratch?

Michelle Buzz: Both Lance and I were the kids writing music after school obsessively. That freedom, when you are telling your own story, is completely separate from sitting with five people in a room, writing for a pop star who doesn’t necessarily need to tell a story. It never scratched the itch of writing alone and letting inspiration well inside. I was too sensitive for it.

Lance Shipp: I was too freaky for it. I wanted to make weird sounds.

Michelle Buzz: It’s all about what someone thinks is a radio hit. I didn’t feel like my kid, creative self for a long time. When we started working together, that’s when I achieved what I thought a career in music was like.

Walk me through the moment you decide to fully pursue Haute & Freddy.

Michelle Buzz: I was ready to be done with music. I was going to let it be a hobby. That was a year long headspace. I think that led me to being able to play. We would make things on the weekends for fun.

Lance Shipp: For me, it felt like trying something “‘meanwhile.” I realized there was more happiness on this side, so let me continue to operate on this side. It was following a trail of happiness, and making other people happy.

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What was it about each other that cemented the decision?

Lance Shipp: We aligned on our weird tastes.

Michelle Buzz: Every time we were collating, and still, we don’t have to talk about what we are chasing. I can say it needs to be like “driving in a misty fog” and Lance will say “Exactly!”

If you guys were young and saw people doing what Haute and Freddy is doing now, what would that have done for you?

Lance Shipp: Everything.

Michelle Buzz: Gaga was like that for me. I turn back to the ‘80s a lot for its self-expression. It would have also meant a lot to see someone who had tried for a while. It took me a while to find that confidence. That’s why we are an open book– we want people to know our story.

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