Each Measure Review: Charlie Freeman
FEATURE
Like so many great artists, Charlie Freeman is no stranger to adversity.
The London, UK-based musician, better known as FREE/MAN, first discovered the art of songwriting at the age of nineteen. While his father was in the throes of a serious illness, Freeman found strength and comfort in his acoustic guitar, calling his newfound talent for songwriting, “a meditative and emotional salve.”
Bolstered by the courage he drew from his music, Freeman’s artistic career would continue to align him towards growth, hope, and resilience, even in the face of continuing challenges. At the start of the decade, the coronavirus outbreak saw his planned twenty-six-city tour of China cancelled only two days before he was due to depart. Never one to let his spirit be broken by circumstances beyond his control, Freeman has now returned to the scene stronger than ever with Reconnection, a new EP which is currently available for streaming.
Freeman released the Reconnection EP as a precursor to Gift in the Shadows, an upcoming full-length album that has been in the works for almost two years. Yet even with its relatively short runtime of just fourteen minutes, Reconnection is much more than a teaser of things to come. It’s a brief but touchingly effective emotional journey in four songs.
Musically, the FREE/MAN catalogue tends toward anything that is soulful and authentic. Reconnection is so richly textured with shades of everything from rock and soul to reggae and folk that it is easy to forget it consists of only four songs. With the EP, Freeman seems to have developed a modern, back-beat driven form of chamber music, brought to life with subtle orchestral backdrops and sweet-sounding close harmonies.
But make no mistake: no matter how multi-layered his soundscapes are, Freeman and his guitar are the undeniable stars around which everything else revolves. Freeman believes in himself, his music, and his message. Every element he chooses to feature on his tracks works in service of these things, and he doesn’t allow any of them to drown him out. The result is a sincere, intimate work of art that doesn’t lose itself in overblown instrumentation or theatrics. Listening to it feels more like having a kindred soul by your side, passing along words of encouragement and reassurance when you need it most.
I also note a unique chemistry between the singer and his instrument. Based on what Charlie Freeman has shared about his life, his guitar has seen him through some of the most difficult moments he has ever faced, and they’ve come out on the other side as best friends, communicating with one another effortlessly. Freeman doesn’t make any demands of his instrument. Rather, he approaches it as an equal – or as a natural extension of his own being – and they work together in elegant synthesis.
The EP opens with what is, in my opinion, some of FREE/MAN’s strongest material to date. The first track, “Not Tomorrow,” is a heartfelt ode to the importance of living in the moment, rooted in a romantic narrative that makes its message of mindfulness more personal. “Not Tomorrow” taps into Charlie Freeman’s reggae influences with an appropriately relaxed skank rhythm and airy back-up vocal harmonies. Notably, though, it isn’t pure reggae, which might have run the risk of sounding derivative or try-hard. To make it his own, Freeman also incorporates his own take on the alternative rock genre, featuring a hypnotic string arrangement and a judicious sprinkling of electric guitar tones. For me, the highlight of the song comes with the impassioned chorus, where Freeman belts out (with impressive vocal control, his simple four-word plea: “Not tomorrow, but today.” I defy you to resist singing along.
Freeman further displays his gift for crafting captivating melodies on the lullaby-like love song, “Bluebird.” From its poetic and fairy tale-esque lyrics to its lilting, slow-dance melody, “Bluebird” is a romantic ballad in every sense of the word. Freeman and his guitar are once again accompanied by strings, but this time, the delicate orchestral sweeps take on a personality that’s more characteristic of a stately classical pavane than an alternative rock tune.
The Reconnection press release describes “Bluebird” as a tale of “the rocky path to one’s hopeful truth and freedom.” These are broad themes to take on in such a short piece of music, but as he did with “Not Tomorrow,” Freeman makes them real by rooting them in the concrete and the immediate. “Bluebird, lazy summer evening / Dancing ‘til the dawn / Guitar, Spanish and hypnotic / Whispers through the air,” he sings in his gentle, wistful tenor, setting a romantic scene for his story to unfold. All things considered, “Bluebird” is sweet and timeless without being overly saccharine, and it’s perfectly poised to be a hit at weddings.
One of the most notable moments of the Reconnection EP is FREE/MAN’s cover of Bob Marley’s legendary 1980 reggae-folk anthem “Redemption Song.” Artists who choose to cover such a well-known song take on a herculean challenge. I have always said that listening to a great cover is like hearing the original song for the first time again, and that’s a difficult effect to achieve. Fortunately, Charlie Freeman knows better than to try to outdo or duplicate Marley’s original recording note for note. Instead, he recontextualizes it, letting his one distinctive style give Marley’s poetry new layers of meaning.
To more closely approach the feel of the original, Freeman strips back the arrangement on this track. There are no strings, drum beats, pianos, or backing vocals. It’s just Freeman and his guitar delivering the message of peace and liberation needs as much today as it did in 1980.
The EP’s closing track, “Two Witches,” gives Freeman a chance to show off his versatility as a songwriter. It doesn’t have the same straightforward feel as the three previous tracks. Instead, the spiraling strings and distance echoes of piano notes create the perfect atmosphere of mystery and mysticism for Freeman’s allegorical tale of good and evil. The exact meaning of the song – and what the proverbial two witches represent – is perhaps best left up to interpretation, but I will say that Freeman offers a fresh new take on the oldest story in history: the ongoing conflict between good and evil. This note of dark but strangely optimistic introspection makes a neat closer for the EP.
For some artists, an EP like Reconnection would be their magnum opus, the sum total of a lifetime’s worth of wisdom. Yet for FREE/MAN, it’s only the beginning. I expect Charlie Freeman will have more lessons of hope, resilience, and reflection to share with us on his upcoming Gift in the Shadows EP, and his 2026 tour of the US, Mexico, Argentina, and the UK will give him a chance to spread his message to a wider audience.
One thing is for sure: wherever you are – in the world and in life – Charlie Freeman’s music is a light in the dark. If he himself is the product of adversity, then his music is the antidote.
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