Freezepop is an American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

band from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States, formed in 1999 by

Liz Enthusiasm Justinne "Jussi" Gamache, also known by her pseudonym Liz Enthusiasm, is the lead singer of indie synthpop band Freezepop. She lives in Massachusetts. Gamache also works in graphic design, and has done design work on Freezepop's website, albums, ...

, Sean T. Drinkwater, and The Duke of Pannekoeken (an alias for

Kasson Crooker Kasson Crooker is an American electronic musician, a composer, and the artist behind Symbion Project, his solo moniker. His past bands are Freezepop, Splashdown, Larkspur, and Sirensong. DJ HMX, Komputer Kontroller, and Cosmonaut Zero were alias b ...

). Since December 2009, the current lineup includes Enthusiasm, Drinkwater, Robert John "Bananas" Foster, and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan. The band is named after the frozen snack, and they have described their music as "sweet and cold and fruity and plastic-y". Several of the band's songs have appeared in video games, including the

Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...

titles ''

Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

'', ''

Amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of amplit ...

'', ''

Karaoke Revolution ''Karaoke Revolution'' and its sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Conce ...

'', ''

Phase Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform * Phase space, a mathematic ...

'', the ''

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Player ...

'' series, the ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'' series, and Neon FM. Their music has also been included in ''

Downhill Domination ''Downhill Domination'' is a racing video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and Incognito Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in North America by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment in 2003 and in Euro ...

'' and ''

Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 ''Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3'' is a music video game developed by Konami and the tenth entry of Dance Dance Revolution released in the United States. It was released on November 15, 2005 for the Xbox. About 70 songs are available in total ...

''. Freezepop songs continue to appear in certain Harmonix titles. Former member Kasson Crooker currently works as a senior producer at Harmonix. The group is popular with college students in Boston and has become part of the US

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

scene.

Background

Originally, their music was entirely composed on a small portable

MIDI sequencer A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...

, a

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

QY70, which has often been mistaken for a

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

. On more recent albums, they have expanded their toolkit due to a lack of variety in the sounds the QY70 provided, but it still remains an important part of the composing process. The release of ''

Future Future Future Perfect ''Future Future Future Perfect'' is the third full-length studio album by Freezepop. It was released on September 25, 2007 by Cordless Recordings. History The first details of the album were posted on April 16, 2007 on the band's MySpace blog. ...

'' only features the QY70 in a single song, that being "Pop Music Is Not a Crime".

In addition to Freezepop, Kasson, who had previously been in fellow

band

Splashdown Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water. It was used by crewed American space capsules prior to the Space Shuttle program, by SpaceX Dragon and Dragon 2 capsules and by NASA's Orion Multipurpose Crew ...

, still records as a solo artist Symbion Project. Drinkwater is also a member of the bands Lifestyle and Karacter, and worked with the band Polystar on their debut album. Enthusiasm appears on the song "Boom Box Chic" by

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based LeMans Electro. In addition to dozens of remixes released over the years, Freezepop released a remix of their song "Shark Attack" done by

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...

band

8 Bit Weapon 8 Bit Weapon is an American chiptune music band formed in Ventura County, California, by Seth and Michelle Sternberger. It was originally created by Seth Sternberger around 1998. Its instruments consists primarily of old 8-bit and 16-bit computers ...

in October 2007. The remix was done with a

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

and a

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

computer. A recurring theme in Freezepop's music is references to science, technology, and mathematics. As examples, the "hi-phive" mix of "Science Genius Girl" features Enthusiasm reciting the first thirty digits of

Phi Phi (; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; grc, ϕεῖ ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th century BC to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voicele ...

. Additionally, the "Robotron 2002" "All Your Base Are Belong to Us" remix by DJ Nebula pays homage to the Internet meme

All your base are belong to us "All your base are belong to us" is an Internet meme based on a badly translated phrase from the opening cutscene of the video game '' Zero Wing''. The phrase first appeared on the European release of the 1991 Sega Mega Drive port of the 1989 ...

. Freezepop was arrested in Canada in November 2006 for trying to enter the country under

false pretenses In criminal law, property is obtained by false pretenses when the acquisition results from the intentional misrepresentation of a past or existing fact. Elements The elements of false pretenses are: *a false representation *of a material p ...

. Harmonix pokes fun at them for this in the loading screens for their songs, in ''

'' and '' Rock Band 2''. On June 4, 2009, it was announced on Freezepop's official website that founding member the Duke of

Pannekoek A pannenkoek (; plural ''pannenkoeken'' ) or Dutch pancake is a style of pancake with origins in the Netherlands. Pannenkoeken are usually larger (up to a foot in diameter) and much thinner than their American or Scotch pancake counterparts, ...

en (originally the Duke of Candied Apples, as well as the Duke of Belgian Waffles, all three

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s of Crooker) would be leaving the band. Crooker stated, "My responsibilities at Harmonix making games continue to increase which takes away from my time and energy to compose and go out on the road to play shows." He also added that he had plans to focus on his side endeavor Symbion Project while also doing Freezepop remixes in the future. His last show as a member of the band was at the

Penny Arcade Expo PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX w ...

2009 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

on September 5. On November 25, 2009, the band announced the addition of two new members: Robert John "Bananas" Foster and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan. On April 25, 2016, the band launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign to raise money for a fifth studio album to follow ''Imaginary Friends'' (2010). They posted a video, along with a photo of a royalty check of $2.93 that they received for online

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...

services. The band's initial goal was US $30,000, which was reached in less than 24 hours. Their next goal of $40,000 was reached, which allowed the band to also release the album on vinyl. More stretch goals have been set for additional content, such as collaborations and a remix album. The album, titled ''Fantasizer'', was released on October 6, 2020.

Soundtrack appearances

Along with bands such as

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtures. ...

Bad Credit Bad Credit was a comedy hip hop duo based out of San Diego, California which lasted from 2002 to 2008, fronted by musicians and comedians Matthew Gorney (Optimus Rime) and Dallas McLaughlin (Dr. Cliff Mixtable). Self-described as "financial hip ...

, and Slowdraw the Hungry Eskimo, their music is featured in the comedy series ''

Mega64 ''Mega64'' is a webseries, video production company and comedy troupe created by Rocco Botte, Derrick Acosta, and Shawn Chatfield, in 2003. Originally conceived to be a public-access television show, the original five episodes produced were later ...

'', which also produced the music video for Freezepop's song "

Brainpower Gerrit-Jan Mulder, known professionally as Brainpower (born 5 February 1975), is a Dutch rapper who writes, records and performs in both English as well as his native Dutch. He was born in Belgium and grew up in the Netherlands. He started mak ...

". Freezepop's song "Swimming Pool" was featured in the episode "Liquid Heat" in the fifth season of ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'', originally aired March 2, 2008. "Frontload" was featured in the final episode of the fourth season of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' The Hills'', which originally aired on December 22, 2008. In 2010. their song "Less Talk, More Rokk" was featured in ''The Fourth Panel'', a web TV series from the webcomic ''

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

''.

Critical reception

Freezepop won Best New Band at the 2002 American Synthpop Awards and were semifinalists on WBCN's Rumble competition. In early 2006, Freezepop's "Stakeout" won in the Dance/Electronica – Song category at The 5th Annual Independent Music Awards.

Band members

Current

– vocals (1999–present) * The Other Sean T. Drinkwater –

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s (1999–present), programming (2009–present) * Robert John "Bananas" Foster –

keytar The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboard ...

(2009–present), live "drums" (2009–present) * Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan – synthesizers (2009–present),

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...

(2009–present)

Past

(as The Duke of Pannekoeken, The Duke Of Pancakes, and The Duke Of Candied Apples) – programming (1999–2009)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Freezepop Forever ''Freezepop Forever'' is the debut studio album by synthpop band Freezepop, originally released in 2000. The album has been reissued multiple times, each including different bonus tracks or videos. The 2002 European release on the Elefant label fea ...

'' (2000) * ''

Fancy Ultra•Fresh ''Fancy Ultra•Fresh'' is the second studio album by American electronic band Freezepop. It was released on April 20, 2004 by The Archenemy Record Company. The enhanced CD features a set of audio visualizers playable with the album, a link to t ...

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

Imaginary Friends Imaginary friends (also known as pretend friends, invisible friends or made-up friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than physical reality. ...

'' (2010) * ''Fantasizer'' (2020)

EPs, remix albums, and compilations

* '' The Orange EP'' (EP, 2000, limited edition CD-R) * '' The Purple EP'' (EP, 2000, limited edition CD-R) * ''

Fashion Impression Function ''Fashion Impression Function'' is a 2001 EP by Freezepop. Tracks 5, 7, 8 and 9 are remix versions of songs found on the band's previous album ''Freezepop Forever''. The Mastermind mix of the song "Manipulate" later appeared on the album '' Fan ...

'' (EP, 2001) * ''

Hi-Five My Remix ''Hi-Five My Remix'' is a 2003 remix album featuring the music of Freezepop. Though hard copies of the album are currently out of print, the album is available through iTunes and other digital download services. Half of the tracks on the album ...

'' (remix, 2003) * '' Mini Ultra•Fresh'' (remix, 2004, promo only) * ''

Maxi Ultra•Fresh ''Maxi Ultra•Fresh'' is a 2005 remix album featuring the music of Freezepop. Though hard copies of the album are currently out of print, the album is available through iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, ...

'' (remix, 2005, out-of-print) * '' Less Talk More Rokk'' (remix EP, 2007, digital-only release) * '' Form Activity Motion'' (remix EP, 2008, online) * ''The Sexy Sounds Of Freezepop'' (EP, 2008) * '' Doppelgänger EP'' (EP, 2012, online) * ''Ultra•Spectacular Bonanza'' (compilation, 2014, USB Drive) * ''

The Covers EP The Covers EP is a Freezepop EP. The EP is available for free for those who sign up for the band's email newsletter, being a gift for this action. After signing up for the band's email newsletter, a link is sent to the subscriber email that giv ...

'' (EP, 2015, online) * '' Phantoms'' (EP, 2015, online) *''Santasizer'' (EP, 2020, online)

Singles

* "Bike Thief" (2003, 12") * "Dancy Ultra•Fresh" (2005, 12") * "The Rokk Suite" (2006, CD single) * Anchor to the World Below (2020, Maxi-Single) * The Ghost Rejoins the Living (2021, Maxi-Single) * Rare Bird (2022, Maxi-Single) * Babes (2022, Maxi-Single) * Step into the Sunshine! (2022, Maxi-Single)

Remixes by Freezepop

* "Seven Boom Medley" (Multi-cover) (2004) – " Boom Boom" by Paul Lekakis and "

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys, released as a single in October 1998 from the band's debut album, '' Up & Down - The Party Album'' (1998). It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in June 1999 and p ...

" by

The Vengaboys Vengaboys () are a Dutch Eurodance music group based in Rotterdam. The group was the creation of Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen (known as Danski and Delmundo). It consists of lead vocalist Kim Sasabone, female vo ...

* "Unicorn" (Killin' Remix) (2004) – by

Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synth-pop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselve ...

* "Unicorn" (Killin' Club Remix) (2004) – by Apoptygma Berzerk

Remixes of Freezepop

* "Duct Tape My Heart" (Remix) (

Hyperbubble Hyperbubble is an international visual and performing arts electropop/synth-pop duo from San Antonio, Texas, formed by Jeff DeCuir and Jess Barnett DeCuir. The music of this American group is variously described as "early Eurythmics meets Josie and ...

, 2005) * "Science Genius Girl" (Robotkid's Lameboy Remix) ( Robotkid, 2007) * "Thought Balloon" (Ming & Ping Rethink) ( Ming and Ping, 2008) * "Tender Lies" (DECTalk Remix) (Druaga1, 2010)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Chiptune musicians Cordless Recordings artists Electroclash groups Electronic music groups from Massachusetts American electronic rock musical groups Independent Music Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Boston Musical quartets American synth-pop groups Video game musicians 1999 establishments in Massachusetts