Interview: Frances on songwriting, Greg Kurstin, and new music.

Sophie Frances Cooke is better known in 2016 as Frances - the girl with the voice like no other. Hailing from the camp of Sam Smith and Disclosure (as well as their praise), her music is heartfelt and unique.

She was part of the BBC Sound Of 2016, and was also shortlisted for the 2016 BRIT Awards Critics' Choice Award - high accolades for a relatively new musician.

Frances recently came to New Zealand for a very brief visit, during which we photographed her in Jetset Bohemian, and spoke to her about her songwriting process, and what she learned from Sam Smith…

"...there’s not much between love and hate, they’re actually very similar just kind of slightly twisted..."

[Outerwear by Jetset Bohemian. Dress by Giles Deacon. Necklace, Frances’ own. All photos taken on location at Jetset Bohemian.]

COUP DE MAIN: In an interview with Gigwise, you described your songs as “very honest and directly about what’s going on in my life.” Is it important to you for your songs to be based on your own life? Is that the easiest way for you to write songs?
FRANCES: Yeah, it’s kind of easier, but also I think it makes them more relatable, because if I can relate to the songs then other people will, if that makes sense?

CDM: “It can’t be true, someone like you, feels this way for me” - you tweeted this on June 9th. Are those lyrics for an upcoming song?
FRANCES: Yes, it’s my next single! I wrote it in L.A. with an amazing guy called Greg Kurstin. It’s coming out soon which is kind of exciting. He was amazing, he wrote ‘Hello’ with Adele, it’s kinda crazy.

CDM: In ‘Let It Out’ you sing, "With our young and innocent minds / So beautifully blind” - do you think there’s a naivety associated with youth when it comes to love?
FRANCES: I think it’s a great thing because it’s really nice, I think it’s kind of lovely. Yeah there is definitely naivety, but that’s kind of what makes young love great.

CDM: In both ‘Let It Out’ and ‘Don’t Worry About It’, you refer to the idea of sharing tears between people. Do you believe that some emotions can be shared, such as grief?
FRANCES: Definitely, I mean, between family - yeah definitely. When you find someone else who feels the same, [it] takes the weight off.

CDM: I guess it’s kind of easier to deal with it collectively.
FRANCES: 100%. You find someone else who feels the same - takes away from it a little bit.

CDM: ‘Don’t Worry About Me’ is beautiful, it’s so selfless, and such a lovely sentiment. You say, “I'll do this in your place.” Do you think that selflessness is one of the most important elements of a friendship or a relationship?
FRANCES: Thank you! Definitely, you have to kind of care about yourself and think about yourself, but there are some times when you have to be a bit selfless and think about other people because they kind of matter more. Sometimes.

CDM: Sometimes.
FRANCES: Not all the time! <laughs>

CDM: Your music deals with a lot of emotional ideas and stories. What do you think is the strongest human emotion?
FRANCES: Probably love, I guess. But then I think jealousy is probably pretty strong in a sad way, but apparently there’s not much between love and hate, they’re actually very similar just kind of slightly twisted.

CDM: Your album features a co-write with Greg Kurstin, as previously mentioned! How does the songwriting process for you change when you’re working with co-writers?
FRANCES: Quite a lot, because if I’m just on my own, there’s no-one to bounce ideas off so it can kind of just be like, “I think this is good, but I’m not really sure.” Whereas when you’re with someone they can kind of say, ‘Oh I love that!’ Or if they don’t really react-- it’s really fun to have someone else there but at the same time when you’re on your own you don’t have to hide anything, not that I have anything to hide anyway, but it is kind of nice to be just on your own.

CDM: A lot of people say they get nervous when they do their first co-write…
FRANCES: So nervous. What if they think everything is rubbish?

WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO…

CDM: There’s quite a contrast between just your piano + vocal songs, and then your songs like ‘I Care’ and ‘Borrowed Time’, which have a bit more production behind them. Does the process differ between the two different styles?
FRANCES: Yeah they do actually. Well, a lot of them do start at the piano still, but definitely the difference I find in the later stages.

CDM: So early on they start from the same beginning?
FRANCES: They start from the same place but you do have to think about-- there’s almost more to hide behind because there’s more sounds and things happening, but when it’s just me and piano, it’s so sparse and there’s nowhere to hide, but they are different. I kind of like them both.

CDM: It’s nice having a mix I guess.
FRANCES: I do prefer just being on my own with the piano - my habitat.

FIVE DEFINING SONGS IN MY LIFE…

CDM: In an interview with Nylon you said you get nervous on stage. Has live performing been something that you’ve grown into, or are nerves something that you still deal with?
FRANCES: I still get nervous I think, but I definitely have grown into it more, like it kind of gets easier almost with every show.

CDM: Do you have specific ways to deal with the nerves?
FRANCES: I try to think about the audience and not think about what I’m doing, just think about them - like, they need to have a great time or they might want to hear this song, or this might be their first ever gig or their last ever gig and I wanna make sure that it’s memorable.

CDM: Your songs are so personal to you - do you ever find it difficult to perform them live, because the memories and stories that are associated with them are often super emotional?
FRANCES: No, because you can kinda just hide behind the song. <laughs>

CDM: Do you detach from the songs?
FRANCES: I don’t, I try to always kind of think about performing it so I can deliver it well, but you can hide behind your singing and your performing, it’s a really good way to get through, to just perform it, and you don’t really have to think about it too much, you can just think about the singing.

CDM: You were playing violin by the age of eight-years-old - what grew your interest into learning piano and starting songwriting?
FRANCES: I actually think it was just that piano was something that a few of my friends were playing, I could see pianos everywhere and it was really easy to sit at a piano and play something, whereas violin, you’ve got a bow and it was kind of faffy, but also I think it was probably subconsciously that I could accompany myself with the piano so that’s probably what drew me to it.

CDM: You could always do violin and singing…?
FRANCES: That’s really hard. There are a few people that can do it but i just can’t - it’s just too hard. I’ve tried before, it’s like the same part of my brain, trying to do it is just weird.

CDM: What’s your ideal songwriting environment?
FRANCES: Probably just alone - so sad isn’t it <laughs> - with a really nice piano, that’d be great.

CDM: Do you ever get writer’s block?
FRANCES: Not writer’s block, but I might get a bit fed up with what I’m doing and just not feel like it’s going very well so I generally just stop and do something else. Go and do something completely non-musical and completely different, and usually I think of something whilst I’m doing the different thing, like I might wash up and then make a cup of tea, and then it just kind of gives your brain a bit of a break and then when you come back and listen with fresh ears, you think about it a bit differently.

CDM: You’ve toured with the likes of James Bay, and you’ve got connections with Sam Smith and Disclosure. Have they given you any advice about the music industry that’s stuck with you?
FRANCES: Sam just said to enjoy everything, don’t take any little bit for granted. He was just like, “It’s gonna go really quickly and you’re gonna forget everything so just try everyday to enjoy everything. Don’t get too tired and just enjoy it all.” And James actually said the same thing, actually he also said, “You need to look after your voice," and I was like, “Okay.”

CDM: If F.R.A.N.C.E.S was an acronym, what would each letter stand for?
FRANCES: <laughs> Fun - I’m pretty fun. Real, Artistic. I was going to say nice but that’s a terrible word. That’s hard! I can only think of naughty or neat, which are two things that I’m not. Never angry, Chirpy, Enthusiastic, Soulful.

CDM: Who or what are your main songwriting influences and inspirations?
FRANCES: Carole King, Radiohead... Coldplay are actually a big one.

CDM: I think they just played Wembley last night!
FRANCES: They did. I’m really gutted about it, but I’m back to play Glastonbury and they’re headlining on the last night, so it’s gonna be good. That’s kind of like, all I listened to as a child.

CDM: At what age did you write your first song ever, and what was it about?
FRANCES: I wrote my first song when I was 12 and it was called ‘Unbreakable’, it was about one of my friends at school who was getting bullied, I was like, “You’re unbreakable."

IF I HAD A DAY OFF IN NEW ZEALAND, I WOULD…

Frances’ new single ‘Say It Again’ is out now - click here to purchase it via iTunes.

Watch the ‘Don’t Worry About Me’ music video below…