Welcome to Backtalk, a new Volume series featuring artist interviews. These conversations will appear in a variety of shapes and sizes, going live in anticipation of an upcoming concert. Any particular musician you’d like us to speak with? Let us know via the comments.
Today’s guest is Francis Farewell Starlite, the charismatic, enigmatic crooner-songsmith behind local electrofunk group Francis and the Lights. We stumbled upon some of the band’s tracks online a few weeks back and were instantly hooked—sleek as hell, but also intricate and subtly brainy, this is the most wholesome sort of dance music. The outfit has received shout-outs from Kanye West (here and here), among others, so it seems primed to explode; tomorrow night it hits Brooklyn Masonic Temple in the company of Les Savy Fav before heading to SXSW. Here’s the excellent title track from Francis & Co.’s latest, A Modern Promise (which you can download for free here); read on for an enlightening e-mail dialogue with Francis, in which he comments on the art of the falsetto and his love for Mr. West’s music.
Why use two drummers? [Check out the setup in a video here.]
I use a drummer and a percussion player. They sit side by side, both have snares, and they share the floor tom. The percussion player often plays hand percussion or timbales. They almost never play the same part as each other. Put simply, it would be impossible to achieve the rhythmic structure and polyrhythms in my music without four hands.
Your falsetto is pretty formidable. Whose work do you study to hone that technique?
I don’t know if Thom Yorke sings in falsetto or not, but he has the most beautiful high voice I can think of. I sing that way on some songs in order to achieve melodies of a certain pitch and range, to serve a specific song or feeling. I have struggled with intonation, consistency and tone in singing falsetto for many years. It is a “removed” way of singing. I do not rule it out, but I am moving away from it as a style.
The solo piano track you posted on March 3 is gorgeous and unexpected. What can you tell us about it?
Thank you. That was recorded on the last day of tracking at avatar studios, on February 28. It is an instrumental interpretation of a new song called “We’ll Remember These Times Fondly.” I was singing vocal takes at the piano, and I asked them to roll tape and turn on the piano mikes.
You’re part of the elite group of artists to make it on Kanye West’s blog. How do you feel about that?
It is an honor. I have read his blog every day since he started it, so it was significant for me. My cover of his song ["Can't Tell Me Nothing"] was in essence a “call” to him—to send a personal message saying how I feel about his music in the only way possible, given that we (currently) live in different universes. I felt like his blog post was a ” response” from the depths of space.
Re: Kanye describing you as a mix between Prince and Phil Collins, do you feel that’s accurate? If the tables were turned and you were blogging about Kanye, whom would you say he’s a mix between?
I would describe Kanye West as an original, an innovator. In time I hope to be regarded as such.
