The Dance Hall Spontaneity of Too Free

When I fired up the Zoom chat to speak with D.C. electro-indie dance band Too Free, I didn’t expect to step into a virtual family reunion. Like cousins racing toward one another to catch up in a lush park, all three members of the outlet behaved as if they were long-lost friends from a prior life conversing. First came Don Godwin’s gaze of awe when he saw lead vocalist Awad Bilal’s bright green hair, which shared a similar shade with that of the Grinch.

“Whoa, when did this happen?” Godwin said. “We haven’t done this yet. It’s f–ked up. It’s been two years since we’ve been on a Zoom.” 

Second was Godwin and Bilal’s visibly belated joy when Carson Cox joined the chat from Florida where he relocated during the pandemic. The three were unsurprisingly more interested in catching up with one another than listening to me field questions, but frankly their conversation was more enlightening than anything I’d be able to pull out of them based on listening to their 2020 release “Love in High Demand” —  and viewing a 2020 video interview by Rolling Stone, which featured an MTV Cribs-esque walk and talk at certain D.C. spots.

In fact, that prestigious write-up and multimedia feature occurred just before Covid-19 began wreaking havoc on our society. In the coming months, music venues shuttered, tours were canceled and groups of artists were forced to adapt as in-person jam sessions became less safe. 

Because of this, Too Free kind of paused. 

“We all had to reassess priorities,” Cox said. “For each one of us, it meant a different thing. We’re all in a different place [but] in the year-and-a-half we were making ‘Love in High Demand,’ we made so much stuff.”

“We have so much material,” Godwin affirmed. 

Despite the crew being physically apart, the three’s mind meld has remained intact, leading to scintillating dance tracks that manage to effortlessly fuse electronic sounds reminiscent of ’80s action flicks with Bilal’s soothing, free-flowing voice, which I can only describe as incredibly sexy.

So while the pandemic forced Too Free to change how they physically create and cultivate their music, it hasn’t changed their mental and spiritual approach.

District Fray: What was it like to be featured in Rolling Stone relatively early in your time together?

Don Godwin: [We] went up to the big city in the offices and they had a very old-school newsroom vibe. 

Carson Cox: It felt like being in a Netflix documentary.

Awad Bilal: I remember they had a giant Aretha Franklin Rolling Stone cover and it was really remarkable. 

Godwin: They were really generous with us. They came down and interviewed us in Awad’s grandmother’s house and walked around with us in the neighborhood. 

Cox: The next day everything shut down. 

What was it like to have this huge coverage breakthrough and then be unable to capitalize on that promotion?

Godwin: It felt like a blow but at the same time, once we got a chance to reassess [after] Carson moved to Florida, it revealed itself as the best of all worlds. We’re all seasoned touring vets and there’s an insistence in the music industry that things remain very structured. The more independent things get, the more structured and product-oriented people get. We saw ourselves being corralled into that from the jump and the break gave us an opportunity to look at what we were doing. 

Cox: I think we all come from an affinity for underground culture and music and what we make wouldn’t be possible without that underground. So, in some ways being in Rolling Stone was cool but it was all periphery for me. In some ways, we created this crazy force without anything; it was just ourselves. Too Free is like a secret club everyone gets to peer into occasionally. Nothing is tangible in this world and you can’t hang onto anything for very long. It was tough because we had to be separate for a while. 

Bilal: It knocked the wind out of me, honestly. It immediately felt very trying.

Godwin: When we made this music, it was very clear it was going to be something people could dance to and a way to create community. That’s the thing that really got robbed from us. We were anticipating a lot of beautiful moments with people. 

Cox: On the flip side, I’ve done a lot of tours and gotten burnt out on a record and that hasn’t happened with this record. 

Bilal: We’ve only played two or three times since the record came out so it’s a little bit different. 

Godwin: Oh my god. That’s crazy but it’s true. 

In the video feature, you all mention how vital D.C. is in the making of the music of Too Free. How do you feel the city bleeds through your tracks?

Bilal: Well, outside of the actual musicality on the record, yes. It’s polyrhythmic and has all sorts of different tones and styles that aren’t specific to D.C. — but it’s bred here. In terms of how the city feeds that music, it’s really a continuation of existence to me. That soul of what the city was, but also the future of the city and what it can be. There’s so much work to be done and to be able to put that into my music and push that forward is a blessing. Yeah, it’s incredible. 

Cox: There’s this power coming into D.C. and you can hear all the music that is everywhere. The sounds just permeate throughout the city and you’d walk around and hear stuff all the time. 

Bilal: Even though I have white bandmates, I still feel like we make distinctly Black music. I feel like it’s forward-thinking Black music. That’s a big part of it and I think holding onto that Blackness in the layering of vocals and how hard the drums and bass hit is very important. 

Cox: I’d been struggling to make house music for a long time. It wasn’t until Awad started singing over it that it began to sound like house music to me [laughs]. When you talk about electronic music or house music, you have to understand the people who paved the way were Black musicians.
There’s something about the authenticity of what happens when we come together. My education exploded when I got to D.C.

One thing that comes up consistently in how you guys create is the concept of spontaneity. I’m curious if you’ve been able to maintain that with the pandemic.

Cox: It’s more structured and goal-focused and a little less “doing whatever.” A little bit of focus definitely doesn’t hurt us, but different people work different ways so I’ll personally record forever and forever. Plus, Awad doesn’t write anything down so there’s never-ending source material. 

Godwin: Carson’s “always be recording” ethos and Awad’s textual spontaneity is a really amazing match because of Awad’s “first thought, best thought” [mentality]. They’re so pure. 

Bilal: Yeah, it’s incredible reading the lyrics on that record because it’s like, “I remember all of this and I remember this day, this person.” 

Cox: In a way, the 2020 reality check was good for us because it felt like maybe the “magic moments” were too good. So while it’s difficult to let go of that, it’s nice to be able to lean into the reality of our situations. I can’t wait until the minute when we can do our stupid shit again; I miss it dearly. 

Godwin: Spontaneity will always be a fundamental aspect of our relationship and it’s just governed by our ability to be in the same place at the same time. Our process has always been based on us setting up scenarios and having time to do whatever we want. 

How did you settle on the very unique sound you share?

Godwin: It’s purely all of us making the music we wanted to make. 

Bilal: That’s it.

Godwin: I feel like there was always a compromise if you’re with a group, but this is the first group I’ve ever been with when I didn’t feel that need. All in, everything works. 

Bilal: I haven’t compromised a thing. 

Cox: Anytime we would jam, we would have microphones up. The vision isn’t even complete yet. 

Lastly, listening to the record really reminded me of old ’80s action movie scores mixed with this dance hall sound. Is that a crazy observation?

Bilal: Really? [Laughs] I think that’s just how you’re supposed to sound.

Cox: This is why our band works. Because of that statement. 

Bilal: Why wouldn’t you sound like that when making this type of music? You should be able to have fun with it and do whatever you want to do. Just don’t make it boring. 

Check out the never-boring music of Too Free on Spotify. You can learn more about the band at toofree.bandcamp.com. Follow them on Instagram @toofreedc.

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Trent Johnson