Reconnection EP by FREE/MAN: A Soulful Journey of Healing, Truth, and Freedom
3 min read
Moments in the career of an artist can be described in such a way that they represent a spiritual rest — a breathing in before the following great chapter. In the case of London-based singer-songwriter FREE/MAN (the musical alter ego of Charlie Freeman), the phrase “Reconnection EP” exactly describes the radiating point between his past and his becoming. The four-song collection, which follows the reissue of his debut album Truth, is a kind of reiteration and reenactment of purpose, leading into his much-anticipated full-length opus Gift In The Shadows, released at the end of 2025. Freeman is a veteran of the Portobello artistic community in London, and has a long-standing reputation for soulful, heartfelt acoustic and melodic rock combined with penetrating storytelling. It started when he was nineteen, picking up the guitar as a comfort to his ailing father, and that emotional sincerity has remained the beat of his music. Following the heartbreak of a 26-city tour of China cancelled due to the pandemic, Freeman draws on his experiences of loss, self-reflection, and spiritual awakening to create an EP that, as the name implies, is an act of reconnection with self, with sound, and with universal threads that unite us all.
Four songs on the Reconnection EP sound like a story in a personal life. The first song, Not Tomorrow, sets the pace with a glossy acoustic sound and a tender, rebellious voice. It is a song of being here and now, a reminder that the meaning of life is often found in the unpoetic immediacy of now, and not the anxious promise of tomorrow. Bluebird sings the blues with airy optimism and a bright, folksome atmosphere, a song like the sunrise over the rooftops of Portobello. Its melody soars effortlessly, celebrating the delicate delight of freedom and inner renewal. The epic of the EP, an emotional reworking of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, makes Freeman pay tribute without ever forgetting that it is his song. His bare-chested style makes the Marleyan exaltation of liberty a very personal contemplation of the freedom within, a universal song into a personal statement. The final song, Two Witches, explores a more enigmatic, filmic world — a dark, hypnotic contemplation of duality and the shadow self. Its harmonies, which are layered over each other, and its slight percussion allude to the fact that Freeman is beginning to venture into the world of the mysterious and the psychological, which he would go on to explore in his future album and film ventures. Every song is a page of a spiritual journal – uncooked, melodious, and redemptive.
Altogether, Reconnection EP is not a set of songs, but rather a wake-up call. This little, mighty art redefines Charlie Freeman’s position as an artist and a human being. The warmth and intimacy of live performance are what make his sound, recorded in his own JBJ Studio in London, have the kind of unfiltered emotional charge that makes his music immediately relatable. He has been called, in the opinion of his critics, infectiously buoyant, a joy to follow. Here Freeman has gone beyond that, toward meaning, toward truth. His vulnerability has a kind of silent heroism, his rejection of the shadow shows courage, and his wish to engage in communication through song shows compassion. As Gift In The Shadows will also release in 2025 and the group will be touring the UK, USA, Mexico, and Argentina, Reconnection EP is the light before the dawn – demonstrating that, despite the silence and distance, the soul can still sing. It is a very personal, beautifully made card that reconnects and is not merely artistic, but it is deeply human.
FREE/MAN (Charlie Freeman):
English