Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with London based singer frances willow to find out more…
Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m originally from Hampshire and have been doing music all my life, I’ve been playing multiple instruments since I was about 6, started singing when I was 11, and started properly learning to produce and write music when I was about 15! I’ve loved music all my life.
Although I am technically a solo artist, I work with a set band that plays with me every gig, I came up with frances willow as it is my middle name and my cat’s name and it just made sense! We all met at university, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Royal Academy of Music and have been playing as a band for over a year now but have been playing with each other for around 4 years for various different projects.
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
I’ve always loved Kate Bush, and I listened to a lot of Rock Music as a child, think Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones. Then growing up I started to listen to a lot more electronic music and indie music as well as folk music. Right now I’ve been listening to Andy Shauf, Madison Cunningham, Kate Bush (still!) and loads more, and I’ve managed to blend those two influences to make my own music!
How would you describe your sound?
I would describe it as a variety of electronic and acoustic sounds, I tend to experiment with new age electronic hardware blended with a classic band set up to create my sound. Lyrically there’s an eclectic mix of strong narratives and highly metaphorical poetry, telling a story from start to finish and channelling a varied array of emotions from dark and intense to sweet and optimistic!
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest release is called anna banana, it came out on October 3rd 2023. anna banana is an Alternative Indie Rock track that I started writing when I was 13, I had an argument with a friend as one does when they are a teenager, and wrote the chorus of this song. In my second year of university I decided to revisit it as a task to myself and ended up really liking the outcome, this song was also the beginning of my new alias and helped create and shape the sound I wanted to have for ‘frances willow’.
What’s your local music scene like?
I live in London and live amongst musicians and creatives so I am very lucky to be in the heart of up and going artists, as I tend to gig myself a lot I get to witness lots of different types of music, and am always looking for a gig to go to! I love being in the London music scene and experiencing everything it has to offer.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
I’ve recently graduated from Guildhall, currently I’m working as an assistant for a live music company, but musically I plan to release two more singles, perhaps an EP, I’d love to gig as much as I possibly can, as the goal is to make this my full time career!
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I’d love to collaborate with Tirzah, Lea Sen or any of that London collective. There’s also plenty of producers I’d love to collaborate with, the dream would be Oneohtrix Point Never. I’d love to blend my style of production and writing with someone else’s. I’d also love to collaborate with some indie folk artists such as Madison Cunningham, Clairo, Beabadoobee and loads more!
Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Me and the band always have a great time performing together, everyone enjoys themselves and we work together so well! I’d say the only funny thing that happens is I make everyone get to venues ridiculously early because I get ‘time-stressed’ which is a phrase I have coined since being in the live scene! Thankfully everyone is very understanding!
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
I’d love them to know how much excitement for this project, how much fun I have working with my band and that all this music comes right from my heart! I’m very passionate about the music I make and really carefully craft everything I do, and I really hope that comes across in the music and the live performances, as this is truly my calling in life!
You can find out more about Frances on her website or via Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, X (Twitter) or YouTube.
Merryn 