Absolutely Free is a Canadian indie rock band formed by bassist Mike Claxton, guitarist Jordan Holmes, singer/multi-instrumentalist Matt King and drummer Moshe Fisher-Rozenberg after the breakup of their prior band, DD/MM/YYYY.

History

Claxton, Holmes, King and Fisher-Rozenberg formed Absolutely Free in 2011 after the breakup of their prior band DD/MM/YYYY. The band released their debut EP ''UFO/Glass Tassel'' in 2012, followed by ''On The Beach/Clothed Woman, Sitting'' EP the next year, as limited-run 12" records. By 2014, Holmes had left the band; Absolutely Free released their debut full-length album ''Absolutely Free.'' with

Arts & Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

in Canada, and Lefse Records in all other territories. The band performed throughout North America opening for Canadian band,

Alvvays Alvvays (pronounced "always") is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and subsequently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (keybo ...

, and Europe with

Preoccupations Preoccupations is a Canadian post-punk band from Calgary, Alberta, formed in 2012 under the name Viet Cong. The band consists of Matt Flegel (vocals, bass), Scott Munro (guitar, synth), Daniel Christiansen (guitar) and Mike Wallace (drums). Fleg ...

. The album was a long-listed nominee for the

2015 Polaris Music Prize The 2015 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2015 at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario.

."Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Long List"
''

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'', June 16, 2015. The band's song ''My Dim Age'' has been used as the theme music for the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

Show, Out In The Open since 2016. In 2019, the song, ''Currency'', was used in episode 2 of

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

television series,

Batwoman Batwoman is a name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies of Batman similarly to Batgirl. The original version of the character, Kathy Kane (eventually given t ...

Media Projects

Absolutely Free is known to work on projects outside traditional music performance and has collaborated with a diverse range of artists and musicians for their live and media-based projects. In 2013, they developed a site-specific sound installation, ''On The Beach'', on

Toronto Island The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

as part of the Camp Wavelength festival. That same year, they created a theatre performance fo
Summerworks Festival
where they performed a series of one minute songs to a single person at a time for the duration of the event. In 2014, the band debuted their self-titled album as part of a live event at

Bloor Cinema The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema (formerly the Bloor Cinema and the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema) is a movie theatre in the Annex district of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the 506 Bloor Street West, near its intersection with the Bathurst ...

in Toronto by projecting holograms of themselves performing the songs live at a concert they were playing in Hamilton, Ontario at the same time.. ''Vue Weekly'', December 3, 2014, by Paul Blinov In 2015, the band was commissioned to re-score a number of

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish-Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

NFB short films that were subsequently performed live as part of TIFF. In 2016, Absolutely Free scored the music for a feature Independent film, ''Two Cares, Due None'' and the short film, ''Ape Sodom''. The band has also collaborated with a number of artists to create videos for their music. * ''UFO'' - Video by Lindsey Hogan / Exploding Motor Car (2012) * ''Beneath The Air'' - Video by Jesi The Elder (2014) * ''Vision's -'' Video by Scott Cudmore (2015) * ''The Sun A'int Gonna Shine (Anymore)'' - Video by Petrina Ng (2017) * ''Still Life'' - Video is an edit of ''The Future Is A Distorted Landscape'' by

Christina Battle Christina Battle is a video and installation artist who was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute (San Francisco, CA) and a certificate in Film Studies from Ryerson University (Toro ...

(2018) * ''Currency (extended mix)'' - Dir. Rachelle Walker (2019) * ''Geneva Freeport'' - Video by Julie Reich (2019)

Discography

Singles * ''Don't Freak Out -'' Remix of Win-Win (2015'')'' * ''Hot Dreams - Absolutely Free Dub Mix'' - Remix of

Timber Timbre Timber Timbre is a Canadian band featuring Taylor Kirk. The moniker refers to an early series of recordings made in a timber-framed cabin set in the wooded outskirts of Bobcaygeon, Ontario. History Timber Timbre released two albums independentl ...

(2015) * ''Still Life'' (2018) * ''Currency (Extended Mix) ft.

U.S. Girls U.S. Girls is a Toronto-based experimental pop project formed in 2007, consisting solely of American musician and record producer Meghan Remy.Hand Drawn Dracula Hand Drawn Dracula (HDD) is a Toronto-based independent record label. Artists who have released music on the label include Beliefs, Breeze, Brian Borcherdt, Bruce Peninsula, By Divine Right, Chastity, Dusted, Julie Fader, No Joy, Postdata, Ta ...

) *''The Space Project'' 5 x 7" Record (2014, Lefse Records)

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Toronto Canadian indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ontario