Biography
Born Jo-Anne Rachel Newmarch Fraser on 4 December 1960 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, Freya emerged as a central presence in the British folk revival that gathered momentum toward the close of the twentieth century. Equally skilled on saxophone, clarinet and whistles, she also works as a vocalist and writer of original material. Early performances took place under her given name, and at thirteen she joined the groundbreaking country dance group the Old Swan Band, entering the lineup alongside her sister Fi Fraser. Once that ensemble entered a period of inactivity during the mid-1980s, she moved into projects with the forward-looking Blowzabella and its offshoot Scarp. The decade that followed proved especially active: her first solo recording, Traditional Songs Of England, appeared in 1993, while duo projects paired her with Fi Fraser under the name the Fraser Sisters, with cellist Kathryn Locke, and with singer-songwriter Pete Morton. She also founded the all-female ensembles Token Women and Freyja. Entering the new century she contributed to an album by Tanteeka and joined Coope, Boyes And Simpson, Fi Fraser and Georgina Boyes for the 2006 seasonal release Voices At The Door: Midwinter Songs & Carols. Additional explorations of global styles took shape in the Freya Federation alongside Kathryn Locke, tabla and percussion player Mohinder Singh, bassist Dave Sturt and multi-instrumentalist Matt Anderson on guitar and keyboards. Her second solo album, issued in 2007, paid tribute to the late folk singer Lal Waterson.
Albums
