Interview with FRANSIS: ‘I did 8 takes to get the raw emotion out of me’

London based alt/indie band FRANSIS will release their debut EP ‘Honeymoon’ tomorrow (1 July), which looks back on the sweetness of childhood rebellion, growing up and dealing with obstacles along the way.

The band is made up of front woman and singer-songwriter Emma Withers, along with guitarists Alex Scott, Stefan Kotlarz and bassist Craig Rattray. Formerly known as Emma & the Idles, the band have been hailed as “Jessie J meets Joan Jett”: ‘Both my great grandmothers were called ‘Francis’ but Spotify was saturated with that spelling, so I tweaked it a little bit,’ she said.

On the EP, they mash up elements of rock, pop, soul and blues across five tracks. After busking on the streets of London and making a name for herself as a unique and energetic performer, powerhouse singer Withers decided to form a band to accelerate the sound she wanted: ‘There are a lot of different factors and influences in there, it’s unpredictable,’ she said. ‘Our guitarist described it as “everything and nothing you’ve ever heard”, it’s about stuff you can relate to but it takes a turn.’

The title track erupts with an energetic, rolling drum beat before Withers’ gorgeous vocals kick in. ‘Honeymoon’ narrates a journey of womanhood, taking a fond look back on childhood rebellion and the sense of freedom and indestructibility you feel as a teen and Withers lyrically recounts stories from her formative years as her now adult self: ‘It’s nice to have an uplifting sense of appreciation for my own personal experiences which have moulded me even if they didn’t seem so poignant or great at the time, how we know not what we have until it’s gone,’ she said. ‘That being said, there is nothing melancholy about this narrative, I have such a tenderness and affection for my teen self, an enjoyment to revisit her and a continuation of personal growth and one day looking back at myself now with a similar fondness.’ The lyrics “It was a honeymoon, a cocoon, feeling like someone new”, are driving yet ethereal and incredibly hooky.

‘The title is a metaphor for the “honeymoon” period of my life’

‘Honeymoon’ turns out to have been inspired by some childhood photos: ‘When I wrote that – mostly, I write at home – I’d just gotten lots of photos from my dad of his childhood. I got them printed and started making a collage of them. There are a lot of memories for me, that’s my nan on the EP cover. There are childhood motifs in the chorus. The title is a metaphor for the “honeymoon” period of my life as a teenager, when you feel that no-one understands you (laughs) but you have so much freedom.’

Withers’ voice shifts considerably from track to track, tackling rocky, bluesy and folky as the song dictates and it turns out this was a deliberate move: ‘The producer wanted to get the best out of us, he was intrigued to see what my voice could do, like a little growl in there (laughs),’ she said.

‘Pin Me Down’ is the most vulnerable track on the album and was prompted by the tragic murder of Sarah Everard as she walked home from Clapham Common to Brixton in London in 2021. The track tackles sexual assault, candidly focusing on the mental strain, particularly in the aftermath, and the struggle behind closed doors.

Describing it as as a “therapeutic exorcism”, Withers said: ‘This song is vulnerable and real, I wanted to focus on the self destruction, the brokenness, the confusion, the anger, and then finally the release which is supported by the music constantly. As the song intensifies, we hit an explosive finale, and an emotional release which was incredibly satisfying to perform in the studio. I did eight takes to get the raw emotion out of me, this is bonded with the mammoth eruption of epic guitar lines and pure power from the band. For the ending, we initially had something else but the producer wanted another verse, so we wrote the whole outro in the studio and now I think it’s the best part of the album. We all got very into it, there are loads of backing vocals, I just keep on going (laughs). We’ve got the piano, strings, bass and at least three guitar lines weaving in and out, plus synths and percussion. I’d never spoken about this before but I live in Brixton, which is really close to Clapham, and I saw collective womanhood coming together afterwards, women having each other’s backs.’

As the track goes: “And hey you did you know I couldn’t cry? ‘Cos I bottled it but that’s just by the by. And it’s funny how a stranger can haunt you for the rest of your life. ‘Cos I was laying low, left to fade in a sin. And self medicate from the pain I was in. ‘Cos it was getting late and I wanted to go home.”

She admits that it’s a difficult song to sing: ‘I’ll see how we get on, I’ve done it a couple of times live. It hits differently when everyone knows what it’s about.’ She is keen to promote the message that no-one should feel alone in their struggle or be fearful of walking down the street alone at night: ‘Get mad, scream, cry and use this song for its intent, let us stand together for change,’ she said. ‘If ‘Pin Me Down’ helps one woman come to terms with any trauma and speak out about her experiences, the job is literally done. You’re not alone.’

‘The song is tongue-in-cheek, lyrically, it’s quite sporadic‘

‘Long Old Road’ gives us Withers at her rockiest and most defiant: ‘We loved doing that one,’ she said enthusiastically. ‘The producer fell in love with it, we tracked it live. It slows down at the end and comes back in. The song is tongue-in-cheek, lyrically, it’s quite sporadic. It’s about the journey in life, pushing through obstacles and being determined. It’s about being an artist and what that means – being stereotyped as a woman but trying to keep the authenticity within yourself. It’s got better but it’s still much harder to be a woman in this industry. I try to keep as savvy as I can but there are certain things that have happened, things that wouldn’t have been said if I wasn’t a woman.’

That comes across in the lyrics: “So go on call me a — and see me take it like a man. You’re toxic without knowing you got poison in your hands. And you can spin it around until it’s bouncing off the walls. The facts won’t change, all that remains is when you’re gonna fall.”

Withers cites Kate Bush as a huge inspiration and says that her own ‘use of the voice and drama’ is taken from her. She’s also a big fan of Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Adam and the Ants, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and 90’s hip hop: ‘I rifled through my dad’s stuff as a kid, not what was in the charts,’ she said. If she could could go to a gig tonight, she picks gypsy jazz: ‘I love watching people do what I can’t do,’ she said enthusiastically. ‘I love Django Reinhardt (a Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer) and rock and soul are my go-to’s.’

I tell her that I find other tracks, such as ‘Hold Onto Water’ incredibly cinematic, with its gentle, breezy piano and guitar lines before her voice comes in. It’s almost folky at the start before shifting into something else entirely around a minute in as she ups the rocky ante and she agrees: ‘It absolutely is very cinematic. It’s about that woman scorned kind of thing, when I felt I wasn’t being listened to. We wanted to make it like that with those army drum rolls, it’s more tense. It doesn’t have a verse chorus verse sort of structure, there are just two sections, it keeps you on your toes!’

If she could write a song with anyone, she is quick to say Bowie: ‘It would be crazy in the best way, I think he’d be so funny,’ she said. ‘He was so ahead of his time. I love people like him who are at the top of their game and seem to be able to see into the future, who are at the forefront of everything.’ Her dream band for the night would be brilliant: ‘I’d love to sing with Freddie Mercury, to do call and response with him, I’d die happy. I’ll have John Bonham on drums, he’s incredible, to have that power behind you. And Prince on the guitar, he was so amazing, so sassy, he didn’t care what anyone else thought, he could just steal their thunder!’