We recently featured Rob Lea for his vibrant and transcendental single, Summer in the Morning, so we were excited to hear his brand new song, Freak!
Setting the tone with cerebral guitar, a dimensional bassline and intricate percussion, Rob Lea opens Freak with the assertive lyrics, “You keep calling out the things that I wear, too much to say about the colour of my hair…”
Freak evolves into a delectable alternative rock sound with a fierce hook as Rob Lea sings, “I’m a Freak yeah baby…”. We love the breaths interspersed within the stripped back verses, and the juxtaposition with the anthemic nature of the choruses.
The composition holds a blues-tinged nostalgic edge, and is also inspired by classic rock and roll, although we appreciate the clean and modern mix. Speaking on the release of Freak, Rob Lea confesses, ““This song is all about celebrating what makes you slightly different from the norm. It’s about sticking a middle finger up at anyone who says you are less than perfect.”
We love the empowering message of the song and the intricate way that Rob brings his message to life with. We learn that Rob’s love for music was apparent from a very early age. He is the youngest of five children, and came to life when the opportunity arose to perform either at home or at school.
Rob credits his music teachers throughout his school years for introducing him to instruments and believing in his talent, which inspired Rob to take up violin, guitar, piano, drums and even trumpet, for which he became the lead player in Blackpool Orchestra.
After working abroad and joining a local rock brand, Rob joined tribute act bands for Take That and Queen. Having the opportunity to combine his two favourite things, acting and music, Rob found his footing.
However once he was in his stride, his work disappeared due to the pandemic, and he struggled to make ends meet during this difficult period. This is when Rob decided for the first time in a long time, to write his own music.
When things opened back up and the Queen tribute could perform once again, Rob performed parts of his own music at his shows and received overwhelming support from his fans. A really inspiring artist come up story!
We love Rob Lea‘s sound and authenticity, and have added Freak to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream his wider discography, Summer in the Morning, and Reflection.