Bruce Driscoll is an American record producer, songwriter, guitarist, film composer, and vocalist.
He is one-half of French & American indie pop, folk duo Freedom Fry and co-founder of Alternative rock band Blondfire. His other writing or production credits include Avicii, Arty, Fredrika Stahl, Ivy, Sleepy Rebels, Stroik, Westrin and Mowry, and the Voyces.
Biography
Early life and career
Driscoll was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan to an American father and a Brazilian mother. He started playing piano and drums at an early age, eventually picking up the guitar when he turned 15. He soon began performing alongside his two older siblings in a band called Nectar.
The siblings embarked on a national tour and eventually landed a development deal with EMI Publishing when Bruce was aged 17. Soon after, they showcased for many of the US major record labels, including Warner Bros. Records, Maverick, and Capitol. In 2002 the siblings disbanded over creative differences and no worthy record deal on the horizon.
Personal life
Driscoll is married to his Freedom Fry bandmate, Marie Seyrat. The couple have a young son and reside in Los Angeles, CA.
Astaire
In 2003 Bruce and Erica Driscoll began recording songs in their parents' Michigan basement which would turn out to be early Astaire demos. The songs took a stylistically more left of center pop sound. The demos were sent to Andy Chase of Ivy who loved the songs and wanted to produce the duo at his studio, Stratosphere Sound, in New York. After working with Chase in the studio the siblings relocated to New York and released their first EP, Don't Whisper Lies, on their own label. The EP garnered the duo a feature in Entertainment Weekly as well as several film placements, including in the Jennifer Lopez film Monster-in-Law and the Nicolas Cage film Bangkok Dangerous.
The EP's single, "L-L-Love" became anÃÂ iTunesÃÂ Free Single of the Week and the band embarked on a national tour withÃÂ Ivy,ÃÂ Robbers on High Street, andÃÂ Stars. In the middle of the tour, lawyers for the Fred Astaire Estate threatened to sue if the duo did not change their name. Lacking the money to afford legal fees they changed their name to Blondfire.
Blondfire
The duo continued on as Blondfire signing a record contract with EMI UK in October 2006. Shortly thereafter EMI was bought out by Terra Firma and went through internal changes. The duo left the label in mid-2007 and self-released their debut album, My Someday, in April 2008.
In September 2012, following the viral internet and radio success of their song, "Where The Kids Are", Blondfire signed to Warner Bros. Records and Primary Wave Publishing and began mixing of their album, Young Heart, with mixer Wally Gagel.
BlondfireâÂÂs music has appeared in films and tv shows such as Dallas Buyers Club, Fun Size, Pretty Little Liars as well advertisements from Honda and others.
Freedom Fry
In April 2011, Driscoll met Parisian born Marie Seyrat during pre-production on Blondfire's "Where The Kids Are" video. Seyrat, the stylist on the video, played him a cover of her singing a song in French over a ukulele. Entranced by her whispery voice, Driscoll asked her if she would be interested in writing some songs together. In August of 2011 Freedom Fry released their first EP.
Freedom FryâÂÂs music combines many genres, with folk, indie pop, and dance elements. Their songs are primarily sung in English but there have been several French-language releases.
In 2016 Freedom Fry signed a singles deal with Universal Music France for the song, âÂÂShaky Ground.âÂÂ
Freedom Fry songs have been featured in many notable places including M3GAN, The Morning Show, Locked Down, Shameless, Atypical, and IntuitâÂÂs Super Bowl film, âÂÂA Giant Story.â Their song, âÂÂRolling Downâ is the hold music for Amazon.
They have performed alongside Stromae, Echosmith, Phantogram, Lilly Wood and the Prick, Aurora, as well as performing a nationwide in-store tour with the clothing brand Madewell. They were official South by Southwest artists in 2016 and 2018.
Film Composing
Driscoll and his Freedom Fry bandmate, Marie Seyrat, provided the original score for seasons one and two of the Apple TV+ original series, Lovely Little Farm, starring Joel Fry and Shirley Henderson.
He also provided additional music for NetflixâÂÂs reboot of That '70s Show, entitled That '90s Show, including engineering and performing bass & guitars on the revamped theme song with the showâÂÂs principal composer James Iha and Brett Anderson of the Donnas.
Internationally, Driscoll has composed the score for Bangladeshi feature film, âÂÂKingdom of Clay Subjects,â as well as for the Romanian comedy, Sweet Little Lies.
Driscoll composed the theme music for the cooking and travel TV series âÂÂFrom Scratchâ starring David Moscow.
Collaborations
One of DriscollâÂÂs most notable co-writes was with Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, with whom and Erica Driscoll he co-wrote the song âÂÂLiar Liarâ for his multi-platinum album, True.
Freedom Fry collaborated with Chicago rapper Vic Mensa on the 2020 single âÂÂHappy Little Thoughts.âÂÂ
Throughout his career Driscoll has continued to collaborate with IvyâÂÂs Andy Chase. First playing keyboards in Ivy, guitar in Chase's band Brookville, and then co-writing and producing tracks for his band, Camera2.
Driscoll filled in on guitar for several dates with Belle and SebastianâÂÂs Isobel Campbell on her tour as a duo with Mark Lanegan in 2010.
Discography
- 2004 - Astaire - Don't Whisper Lies EP - Producer, Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Programming, Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
- 2005 - Various Artists - Auralgasms: Bliss Of Life - Producer, Performer
- 2005 - Blondfire - Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) EP - Guitar, Producer
- 2005 - Blondfire - Holiday EP - Producer, Guitar, Piano, Bass
- 2005 - Monster In Law (Original Soundtrack) - Producer, Guitar
- 2006 - Brookville - Life In The Shade - Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Theremin, Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Drum Programming
- 2006 - Mônica da Silva - "Miles From Nowhere" - Guitar (Rhythm), Keyboards
- 2006 - The Postmarks - Remixes - Remixer
- 2007 - The Voyces - Kissing Like It's Love - Engineer
- 2008 - Blondfire - My Someday - Producer, Mixing, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
- 2008 - Sleepy Rebels - World Record - Producer, Composer, Instrumentation, Vocals, Mixer, Group Member
- 2009 - Brookville - âÂÂBroken Lightsâ - Lead Guitar
- 2010 - Lana MÃÂr - Lana MÃÂr - Producer, Composer, Instrumentation, Mixer
- 2010 - Tamar Kaprelian - Sinner Or A Saint (Interscope) - Producer (New Day (Acoustic)), Engineer, Guitar
- 2010 - Mônica da Silva - Brasilissima - Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Programming
- 2012 - Sleepy Rebels - Bah Humbug! - Producer, Composer, Instrumentation, Vocals, Mixer, Group Member
- 2011 - Sleepy Rebels - Yellow Tree - Producer, Composer, Instrumentation, Vocals, Mixer, Group Member
- 2011 - Ivy - All Hours (Nettwerk) - Programming
- 2011 - Elan - We Are - Producer ("My Baby And Me"), Composer
- 2011 - Freedom Fry - Let The Games Begin EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2001 - Blondfire - "Where The Kids Are" (Single) - Producer, Engineer, Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2012 - Freedom Fry - "Earthquake" (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2012 - Blondfire - "Walking With Giants" (Single) - Producer, Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2012 - Freedom Fry - Outlaws EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2012 - Freedom Fry - "Summer in the City" (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2012 - Blondfire - Where The Kids Are EP (Warner Bros) - Producer, Engineer, Guitar, Drums, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2012 - Freedom Fry - "Dark Christmas" (Single) - Producer, Engineer, Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2012 - Camera2 - "Just About Made It" (Single) - Producer, Engineer, Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drum Programming
- 2013 - Avicii - True - Composer
- 2023 - Dallas Buyers Club (soundtrack) - Composer, Producer
- 2014 - Blondfire - Young Heart - Producer, Engineer, Guitar, Drums, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2014 - Freedom Fry - "Home" (Single) - Producer, Engineer, Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2014 - Freedom Fry - The Wilder Mile EP - Producer, Engineer, Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Group Member
- 2014 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂScarborough Fairâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2014 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂBlackmailedâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2014 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂFan Club: The Singles (2011 - 2014)â Vinyl Album - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂShaky Ground (Hey Na Na Na)" (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂYeah Youâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂBreak Into a Musicalâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂ21â (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂTropicanaâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂOops!â¦I Did It Againâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2015 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂ1979â (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2016 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂThe Wordsâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2016 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂSmells Like Teen Spiritâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2016 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂLingerâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂAwakeâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂRemixesâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂSongbirdâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂMy Valentineâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂJunkieâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂNapoleonâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂMary JaneâÂÂs Last Danceâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂStrange Attractionâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂBraveâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂWild Childâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂBrave (Freedom Fry Remix)â (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂWhen the Snowflakes Fallâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2017 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂHoliday Soundtrackâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2018 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂGirl on Fireâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2018 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂClassicâ - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂThe Seasonsâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂNew Lifeâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂGlory Daysâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂRenegadeâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂThe Sun is Gonna Shine on Youâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂRio Grandeâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂCome Bring Your Loveâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂThe Summerâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂ1983â EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂMatchstickâ EP w/ CLARA-NOVA - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂHoliday Soundtrack Vol. 2â EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2019 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂZoomâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2020 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂStrongerâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2020 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂSongs from the West Coastâ - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2020 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂHappy Little Thoughts (feat. Vic Mensaâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2020 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂHumanâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group
- 2020 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂOne Big Happy Familyâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2020 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂHoliday Soundtrack Vol. 3â EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Fredrika Stahl - âÂÂNattenâ - Co-writer, co-producer, and Guitar on âÂÂElectricâÂÂ
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂReprisesâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂReprises IIâ EP Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂBroken Down on Planet 909â EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂColorsâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂLâÂÂInvitationâ - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂSmileâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂI DidnâÂÂt Feel Like Dancingâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂBe Your Manâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2021 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂMonsterâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂMr. Nobodyâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂSing-a-long Seriesâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂLovely Little Farm: Season 1 (2022, Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack) EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂStrange for Loveâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂFallingâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂTrue to Ourselvesâ EP - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂHot Tub Time Machineâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2022 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂSunset Blvdâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2023 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂYOLOâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2023 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂRescueâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
- 2023 - Freedom Fry - âÂÂDreamlandâ (Single) - Producer, Mixing, Group Member
References
External links