In 2025, Freidrich$ made me rethink the trap genre through his album Demo(n)s. Now, he’s making me rethink him as an artist thanks to a collaboration with Azalias called Outsideness.

By Graeme Smith

The pair’s project feels like a controlled experiment, the result of a collision between two artists’ distinct styles morphing into something new. Both Freidrich$ and Azalias take an unconventional approach with their solo music and together have encouraged each other to take bolder steps.

While Freidrich$ brings his trap credentials to the collab, Azalias brings her distinct vocals. Both work to bring out the best in one another. Friedrich$ is clear in what he sees as Azalias strengths, deploying them well, and vice versa. Put simply, this team up was meant to happen.

What we get with their new album …From What? is unpredictable and that’s its main joy. Outsideness navigates genre with ease across its eleven tracks, taking us on unexpected twists, turns and deviations right from the off.

After Remedy sets the scene with some emo pop and R&B, Pretend delivers an early earworm. Outsideness describe the intent behind the track as “trying to make something that moves” and it certainly does that, giving us dance beats, funky grooves, and plenty of stirring emotion.

The twin vocals work well, each deploying vocoder and special effects to enhance the emotion rather than distract from it. Added to the emo are hyperpop elements, hip-hop, and plenty besides.

A unique take on Dido’s Thank You proves another standout late into the album due to its fresh familiarity. Though the track has never fallen out of our collective conscience, Outsideness’s Thank U feels like a timely, unexpected reminder.

Lyrically, the album takes on a breadth of topics, both the personal and the political. Country sees Outsideness speak out about the state of America, likening it to something burning. At the heart of it all is a theme of love.

What started as an experiment, a simple demo recording, has grown legs and become a complete project. By track five, Poltergeist, it ceases to test the water and commits to Freidrich$’ and Azalias’ new combined sound. They should certainly work together again in future based on what they’ve created with …From What?

Both artists position themselves as enigmatic personas, letting their music speak for itself. If you want to check out their solo work, you can head to Freidrich$’ and Azalias’ respective Soundcloud pages.

…From What? is out now, and you can listen to it below.