Artist Of The Week #264 - Francis of Delirium,
This week’s Artist of the Week is Luxembourg’s indie royalty Francis of Delirium, who has just released their debut album ‘Lighthouse’ via Dalliance Recordings.
For Francis of Delirium, AKA 22-year old, Luxembourg based Jana Bahrich, Lighthouse is the sound of openness, optimism and embracing vulnerabilities, weaving in elements of pop alongside rock to create songs which resonate universally and celebrate the beautiful things of the world. Lead singles ‘Real Love’ and ‘First Touch’ were produced by Catherine Marks (Boygenius, Wolf Alice) and the rest of the album self-produced with frequent collaborator Chris Hewett. Previous single ‘Blue Tuesday’ was named as KEXPs Track of the Day and added to Spotify playlists New Noise, All New Indie and Front Page Indie, Whilst single ‘Give It Back To Me’ was praised by DORK with “it stands out not just as a song but as a statement of solidarity and support within a community”.
Lighthouse is a ready made indie rock classic, packed with uplifting and emotional Gen-Z anthems from start to finish. She took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Francis of Delirium - how are you? So your album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Hey! I’m doing well, a little bit anxious and very excited. I think I’m mainly just excited to be getting to play the songs live. It has been a hectic past few weeks so it’s nice to just enjoy having the music out there and get to the fun stuff, playing the songs live!
It is called ‘Lighthouse’ - what is the meaning behind that?
I wanted all the songs to be pointing towards this big light, like all the songs are angled towards hope so it felt like the ‘Lighthouse’ was a good image to represent that. Lighthouses also only function in the dark (as far as I’m aware) so I like this balance of light and dark, I felt like that also mirrored the sonics of this album and all of our past work. There’s been this heavier, darker, dirtier under belly coupled with softer vocals and little synth and bright guitar elements which just pushed me over the edge into choosing ‘Lighthouse’ as the title.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
We recorded 2 songs in London with Catherine marks and the rest of the album was recorded in Luxembourg at Holtz Sound studios, which is a studio up in the middle of the country and which is a bit more isolated. The town is encircled by forest and farms so the drive up there everyday was gorgeous. Chris and I would carpool up there together and listen to the songs, make notes or listen to demos to just keep our ideas fresh in the mind as we would drive up.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
The key themes are love, hope and vulnerability. I was influenced by a lot of singer songwriters for this album, folk writers, country singers, people like Joni Mitchell, Glen Campell, Paul Simon. Wonderful songwriters who sometimes use really rich instrumentation to fill out their songs.
If the album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
This is a tough one. I haven’t seen ‘The Lighthouse’ with Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, should I? They seem like an interesting duo, so maybe my music makes no sense with it but I’m gonna go with that movie.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album - if so, which one and why?
I’m not sure if I have a favourite but I quite like the lyrics ‘There’s a light in this tunnel some days it’s hard to define’. Feels like a good reminder that even when you’re unsure of where you’re going, somewhere there is a light if you just keep walking and trying and moving forward.
Now the album is out there - what next?
I think I will take a moment to disconnect from the screen, reset my brain and then I will be looking at sitting in a van, looking out the window and playing loads of shows. I can’t wait, it’s been a while since we hit the road, I love it.
