Friedberg on their debut album, ‘Hardcore Workout Queen’

You’ll often hear the story of the frontperson or guitarist who decides to go solo, but today we’re spending some time with a solo artist who decided to start a band.

Anna F. started out as a pop singer in her home country of Austria, and she was launched into the music industry after opening for Lenny Kravitz in her 20s.

A few years ago, she moved to London, and that’s where the story of her new band, Friedberg, begins. It didn’t take long for Anna to make friends, and those friends would form Friedberg’s all-woman lineup.

Last year, they released their sharp and playful debut album, Hardcore Workout Queen. In today’s session, Anna F. breaks down the pros of being in a band, her love of punk and funk pioneers ESG, and why we can always use a little more cowbell.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.