Alfreda’s “Patsy” is a satirical spiral through people pleasing and pop delusion

Mere moments after bringing melodrama to Brighton’s The Great Escape, Alfreda sits pierside for a chat with BEST FIT, just days ahead of her brand new single drop. She’s living under the alias of a John Waters muse, Edith Massey or Divine to be exact, thanks to '50s mint green tights and a signature towering black bouffant. It's a comparison she’s quick to co-sign, the absurdity of her B-movie aesthetic is all part of the performance, darling. But “When people say ‘You’re like Chappell Roan’, it kind of annoys me,” she lets slip. “It’s ‘cause I wear a wig...what?”

Before concentrating all her efforts on music making, Alfreda was the curator behind Bedroom Tales at The House of KOKO, a private members club in Camden. Blending burlesque, comedy, magic, live music, and sometimes even scenes of a sexual nature, “I would write, produce, direct and star in a stage show,” she says with pride of her cabaret residency. “Between all of those things there would be this whole story, a narrative that I wrote... I kept writing mini musicals.”

Anyone familiar with Alfreda’s distinctive identity would be remiss not to dissect the influence of theatre. Name-checking the greats, whether it’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Liza Minnelli in Cabaret, her inspirations stretch beyond the playhouse. To behold an Alfreda set is to conjure an early Stefani Germanotta making her mark around New York’s Lower East Side bars. Listen closely to any manner of “tongue-in-cheek” tragedy from her small but eclectic discography and you’ll meet autobiographical bluesy balladry in the style of 2008’s “Summerboy” or “Brown Eyes”.

“A kind of indie sleazy, poppy theatrical world is what I’m doing,” she follows up with the mention of the formative Lady Gaga, Grace Jones, The Strokes, and Arctic Monkeys. “I love theatre, the escape of it, and being inspired by also those early concerts. I went to Britney Spears and Girls Aloud back when I was really young.” While comparisons are part and parcel with the job, Alfreda undercuts her own approach to glamour unlike that of Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter. “I guess my thing’s a bit more broken down,” she describes herself. “I’m a bit half-assed, I’m a bit messy and chaotic.”

It’s an authentically British description, sardonic and self-aware, a perfect punchline to the exaggerated personas of Alfreda’s music that make her so appealing to the naked eyes and ears. Her latest character is that of the “Patsy” archetype, an accurate roleplay, it turns out. “Most of my songs have a people pleaser aspect to them,” she reveals. “I’ve been in so many relationships where I’ve been with kind of abusive people in the past, and I’m always the messy one, and I take the blame because it sometimes can make the conflict go away.”

“Patsy” sees Alfreda apologising for things that need no apology, a defence mechanism as a means to appease. A lyrical push-and-pull between self-protection and self-destruction powers the track. At the emotional core, she anchors a painfully recognisable scenario by seizing total control of the room. “The content is very vulnerable. I’m very much giving everything on a plate. I’m telling you exactly who I am, but I’m just doing it through humour and bright colours.”

Brought to life in a Soho studio, Alfreda talks of playing with more live instrumentation on “Patsy” with the help of engineer Will Smith (Robyn, Caroline Polachek). “It’s a lot more poppy than the other stuff I've done,” she explains. On working with co-writer and close friend Oliver Sim, “We just met out and about, got on and talked about music. Oh, he’s so sweet. He knows me so well. We wrote a couple of great songs together.”

“Patsy” is the latest installment of Alfreda’s TEASERAMA! canon – “Adult Film Star”, “Punch & Judy”, and “Stairway To Heaven” – a creative project that functions like a lost theatrical production. Framed as an audition tape, the video for “Patsy” lives within a world of half-built sets, abandoned props, and unappreciated costumes. Her new single feels like the logical next chapter in her collapsing melancholic mythology, with upcoming mixtape plans pushing that concept further: “A pop relic that someone uncovers years later,” Alfreda calls it. “I see myself performing the mixtape at the end of the year, but doing it like a play.”

Also launching a mockumentary series titled The Vanity Project, offering a sharp, comedic take on the music industry, a delusional, exaggerated Alfreda chases fame and falls along the way. “I wanted to talk about the frustrations of what it is to just be so insanely talented, but not recognised,” she jokes. There are uncomfortable truths behind the banter, though. “Music is tough, I hate all the industry bullshit. It’s all about numbers, it’s all about being viral. I'm quite niche, and I've got ADHD, and I can't always remember to post. Maybe I should try another really difficult career that I will probably never work in, like film directing.”

She may be unsigned for now, however, Alfreda appears to approach her career with a suspension of disbelief and sincere ambition. “I think I’m just going to continue making what I want to make,” she shrugs. “If someone wants to buy it, they can buy it. I am already the most famous person in the world.” Having accomplished sold-out headline shows from Servant Jazz Quarters to Shacklewell Arms, you can catch Alfreda next in her Sunday best playing “Patsy” at Dot To Dot Festival this weekend.