fffriend is the solo project of Victoria BC-based music producer and multi-instrumentalist, Alex Klassen. Originally from northern BC, Alex spent 15 years performing and producing albums in Edmonton and Calgary with bands like The Collective West and Free the Cynics before moving to Victoria in 2022.
As the golden April sunshine starts to shine through those winter storm clouds, fffriend will be taking over the airwaves as The Zone’s Band of the Month with his single, i wear gold.
Once Alex and Tyson finally thawed out from their icy dip in Thetis Lake for a wild Band of the Month photo shoot, they caught up over the creative process, new music, and the legend of a local cryptid.
Tyson Elder: Alex, great to have a chance to chat with you again. First and foremost – Congratulations on being April’s Zone Band of the Month.
Alex Klassen: Thanks for the support!
TE: I feel like you are the Band of the Month I’m most connected with. It’s like we are trauma bonded after spending all that time in a freezing lake on a stormy day in March. Have you thawed out yet?
Alex: That was so intense. I was focusing so hard on us getting those underwater shots, I wasn’t realizing how cold my head was getting. When you guys started providing direction for the next shots, I realized woah, I’m not processing information and I can’t really talk. My brain is going into survival mode, I gotta get out.
TE: I don’t think I’ll ever be warm again. I don’t know how people can do cold plunges everyday. That wrecked me. It was truly a new experience for me working in water like that. I can’t thank you enough for being so willing to put it all on the line for this Band of the Month shoot.
I finally understood your band name, fffriend after that day – a lot of shivering while trying to say “f-f-friend.”
Alex: I love a good cold dip, but this was next level. The fact that you guys were so game was the best. The photos are awesome.
TE: Have you ever heard of the Thetis Lake Monster?
Alex: I have not! Ogopogo in the Okanagan of course, but I was not aware Thetis had its own Nessie situation.
TE: When I moved to the island as a young teenager, I was big into cryptids and unexplained phenomenon. What can I say? It was the era of The X-Files. I quickly learned about this Creature from the Black Lagoon-style monster that was spotted in the lake in the 1970s. It’s obviously a hoax and I’d completely forgotten about it until after when I was editing photos. One of the shots gave me big lake monster vibes.
Alex: Glad to fill in as resident cryptid.
TE: Okay, now that I’ve got the spooky stuff out of the way, I’m curious about how you started making music and how that journey brought you to this new project, fffriend.
Alex: I’ve been making music with pals for years, ranging from post-punk and metal to folk and roots. I’ve always collaborated with friends, finding friendship to be the best part of it. From 2018 to 2022 I actually ran a small studio in Calgary, recording a lot of cool projects. When I moved out to the island, I hunkered down and wrote a collection of songs I really loved, and got excited to launch a project all my own.
TE: Your Band of the Month single, i wear gold, is an instant ear-worm as soon as you hear it. Every time I’ve listened to it I hear new hidden layers to be appreciated while having ear-catching lyrics. I’m curious about your process when it comes to writing music for fffriend and more specifically, i wear gold.
Alex: Thanks so much for listening so close and enjoying it! My songs typically start with a groove or riff I’m excited about and I build outward from there. i wear gold started with the bass line. It gave me kind of a Gorillaz vibe; I could tell I wanted a hip hop-style looping rhythm, with catchy but thoughtful lyrics. The lyrics popped out easily for this one. I was thinking about the excitement of self-expression via clothing and style, but also how materialism leads to issues with vanity and overconsumption. The extra instrument layers all came together easily in the studio. It was fun and painless to produce, front to back.
TE: It’s no secret around the Rocktographers camp we’re big fans of Hollerado. We’ve been to many of their shows over the years. How did you connect with Nixon Boyd (drums, backing vocals in Hollerado) as a co-producer on fffriend?
Alex: I met Nixon in 2022; we co-produced a record in Calgary for a band called Free the Cynics (which is really great and you should all check out!!). We hit it off and kept in touch, and when I started writing fffriend tunes, we met over Zoom to tighten the screws on each one. Later, on a trip to Toronto for Canadian Music Week, I dropped in at his studio and we started demos. He really helped me articulate the whole vibe and approach, and consulted along way, which is so valuable when you’re producing and mixing your own stuff.
TE: On the topic of new music, I took a deep dive into your 2024 record, magnetic fields, while out for a walk the other evening. It’s a stunning record and the production on it is something truly wonderful to experience in headphones while in nature. Songs like glory daze and growing apart kept drawing me back in. Making a record like this is a labour of love. How long had you been working on the record before putting it out into the world?
Alex: I wrote the songs in 2022, which are really personal and specific in exploring some of the micro-level issues I’ve been feeling in my life and relationships, influenced by macro-level cultural and political forces. I recorded in 2023 and mixed in 2024.
TE: Can we expect more new music from you in the not-too-distant future?
Alex: For sure. I just released travel lightly, the 2nd of 3 singles that didn’t fit quite right on magnetic fields. I’ll be releasing the 3rd single at the start of June. And I’ve actually got a full-length album written and demos started with Nixon. Album #2 is underway!
TE: It’s a bit of a rarity for us at Rocktographers to have not seen a Zone Band of the Month perform live, at least once or twice. With you being fairly new to town, we haven’t crossed paths before at show. As a mostly solo artist, how does fffriend translate to a live performance? What should we expect to see when we see you perform later this month at the Band of the Month showcase?
Alex: Thankfully, my pal Grey is performing with me. With a mix of sample pads, loops, and in-ear monitoring, we’re going to perform magnetic fields true-to-form. I’m really excited to show it off.
TE: Alex, once again thank you for taking the chance on the lake photos with us, and congratulations on being The Zone’s Band of the Month.
Alex: Thanks for all the help! It’s such a privilege to connect with this music scene with such great support. I couldn’t be happier with the photos. You’re all the best!
April 2025’s Band of the Month, fffriend, will be filling the airwaves with his single, i wear gold, on The Zone @ 91-3 all month long. The song is available for download, along two other songs, and more aquatic photos from Rocktographers, on his Band of the Month microsite.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.