Haute & Freddy appear in the July 6 edition of The Cover, part of NME’s weekly spotlight on emerging talent. The profile, authored by Nick Levine with photography by Kristen Jan Wong, highlights their rise.
Alongside their The Cover feature, the duo have curated an exclusive playlist titled “Juggling Practice”. It includes three of their own tracks — “Dance The Pain Away”, “Freaks” and “Shy Girl” — as well as songs by ’80s icons Kate Bush and Depeche Mode and recordings by drag queens Devine and Violet Chachki. The full playlist is available on Spotify below and on Apple Music.
As independent songwriters in a competitive industry, Haute & Freddy had been orbiting each other for years, often crossing paths at the same venues. The pandemic forced a creative pivot for many artists, and it was then that vocalist Michelle “Haute” Buzz and drummer‑percussionist Lance “Freddy” Shipp discovered their shared vision: private compositions separate from commercial session work. “It was like, ‘Wait a minute, we literally gravitate towards the same things!’” Shipp recalls.
Partnering with a kindred creative spirit reinvigorated the pair. “We were tired of being confined to a box when writing,” Shipp explains. “So we decided to make music without a specific goal — just to play. That freedom allowed us to explore whatever we wanted.” Embracing this mindset, they created the personas of Haute & Freddy and crafted an imaginative backstory. Inspired by an old‑timey circus‑style font, they launched their debut single “Scantily Clad” at the end of 2024.
“With that song, the music steered us toward circus folklore,” Buzz says. “The lyrics painted a story of us challenging the queen and the nobility, prompting the question, ‘Who are we, and why are we undermining her?’ We then began a dialogue with fans in the comments section, and their response reinforced the courtly language we were using.” Since adopting the Haute & Freddy identity, the duo have committed fully to the concept.
