Essex-born Francis Neve spent much of his musically-precocious youth in various bands, including a turn in indie group The Last with Florence & The Machine drummer Chris Hayden.
Having opened his own recording studio, FFR, in 2009, Francis chose to pursue solo projects and a career in sound-engineering. Last year saw the release, via FFR Records, of debut mini-album ‘The Second Time We First Met’, a pensive seven-track telling of a relationship’s rise and fall. Francis sings and plays almost all the instruments on the record, only collaborating with vocalist Lucy Randell for solemn midway duet ‘Winterbury’.
This is set to follow Radiohead-esque lament ‘Brian’s Drying Up’ as the second single to be taken from the album, due for release later this month. Meanwhile, ahead of a show tonight at London’s Bull & Gate, we asked Francis to tackle our Same Six brand of questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started making music as a teenager. As soon as I could play a chord or two on the guitar I started writing songs. I got a band together and spent all of my time playing and writing songs and lyrics. It was an addictive feeling, always trying to better the last song we had written, and responding and reacting to the music and influences of that time. However, I didn’t start capturing those songs properly, in my own recordings, until much later. I always had an ambition to have my own studio and make my own albums and that eventually came to be, which meant that I could work on my own much more productively and at any time day or night. So I started to write and record my ideas. That was a big step for me.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
I guess the inspiration for the words in the album came from a lot of my own experiences. It’s hard, when you listen to the news each day, not to notice how strangely people can treat each other, and I think that played a big part in the sentiment behind the record too. I got home from working on a long hard tour and the first day back I wrote ‘Brian’s Drying Up’, track one on the album, and ‘You Must Be Somewhere’, the last track. They were the bookends and it just went from there. I was full of ideas and feelings from the time I’d spent away. I wanted to tell a story with the music and the dynamics as well as the lyrics.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
For me it always starts and then grows from a musical idea, maybe a melody, a chord progression or a groove. Once I’ve got this hook in my head I usually play it around and around until I know how I want it to sound. Then I’ll lay down the idea in the studio and start to build around it. When it’s going well this can lead to whole new ideas better than the original. Once I have the structure and the melody sorted and laid down, I usually run it by Tom my drummer to get his take on it. It usually ends up with me adding and adding until all the ideas are there, then I take things away until the arrangement feels right. The lyrics come at the end and the words sit on the music.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
I’ve been influenced by all sorts over the years. I think I’ve had more of a push from the ambiance and sounds of certain records rather than artists. But if I had to name some specific artists, I’d say Roger Waters for definite, plus bands like Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor all had a big part in teaching me what modern music can sound like on record. Then writers like Ian Banks and Philip K Dick have had a big influence too, on the lyrics. Recently, I’ve really been impressed by bands like LCD Soundsystem and The Whitest Boy Alive. All their albums flow and sound so so good. Musically, I’m influenced by everything that I hear that I like. All types and genres of music have influenced me to create my own versions at some point.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Have it on quite loud on really good headphones, or in the car on a night drive. Listen to it in order and in one sitting … if you can!
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
My ambition for the album is to get it out there and try to reach as many people as possible with it. If it attracts listeners that get the message, love the music and want to hear more then I’d be totally satisfied, it would give me the perfect excuse to crack on with the next one!! As for the future, there are lots of plans. I want to get the music heard in other countries, so will start working on that after the release. I want to get the live show perfected and perform the album as much as possible.
MORE>> www.francisneve.co.uk
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