Lemon sweet on stage

Fremantle soul rock band Bass Lemon are ready to blow away the crowd at Clancy’s Dunsborough on Sunday with their eclectic sound.

The band has recently played Nannup and Fairbridge festivals, captivating audiences with lead singer Freddie Mai’s incredible range.

The hardworking band has played more than 50 shows in the Perth area in the past year in a bid to refine its live performance.

Lead singer Freddie Mai said she felt most comfortable on stage.

“It’s the only time I really feel comfortable being vulnerable, I feel like the more vulnerable you are on stage the more people will find a personal connection to your music,” she said.

The five-piece writes melancholic “jazzy funk blues” including honest and sometimes controversial lyrics delivered with a raw power. “Being a queer woman and growing up in a Catholic family, going to a Catholic school, I quickly rebelled against the church’s ideals,” she said.

“I wanted to create something different.”

The passionate activist wrote a powerful song about sexual assault, No Means No, which is a protest song against misogynistic men.

Mai has an experimental way of writing her abstract lyrics, improvising her way through adlib lines while practicing, recording these vocal jams and listening back to choose her best phrases.

She said her writing often came from dark places and she was working on becoming an androgynous role model.

“It’s the most beautiful thing when a young girl comes up to you and asks (you) to sign a guitar case because she saw you being powerful onstage,” she said.

“I want to be the artist that I craved when I was a kid and I think the persona I’m trying to portray is a strong person who fights for equality.”

The four men that surround Mai perfectly complement her big voice with a contemporary jazz set up of Fred Bjorksten on double bass, Doug Lawrie on piano, Leo Rossi on percussion and Finn Pearson on guitar.

“As long as I’m performing with friends I’m happy and I want to use that music to help destroy the subliminal demonisation of femininity which affects both women and men,” she said.

“I want young boys to know that it’s fine to have feminine tendencies or interests.”

The band has a residency at Clancy’s Fremantle and is looking to expand its growing fan base to rural areas with more gigs planned in the South West.