Starting up the new year with a deep dive into the creative new album from Leave Spell – we caught up with artist and songwriter Franciscan Honey, to find out more about the new sound, the new songs, and the journey that led to this point. Here’s how it went.
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Hey – thanks for the interview, and massive congrats on the debut project. To give a little background, you’ve released music previously as Franciscan Honey – what does the rebrand mean for your sound and writing style?
Leave Spell is much more grounded in a traditional structure and sound. In Franciscan Honey I work with other studio musicians for things like drums and the music is fairly sporadic; this time around I play everything on the album and I’m trying to write with more structure. I still struggle with repeating choruses for some reason, but, hey, it’s a work in progress.
What was the inspiration behind the title and concept for A Place I’ve Seen Before?
I think all songs are just repeated memories, in some form or another. The songs on this album are embellishments of places I’ve been and emotions I’ve felt, and I wanted the title to represent how autobiographical and personal this project is for me. I mean, you could call almost any song autobiographical and emotional, I get that, but working as a solo project lends to a higher degree of vulnerability when releasing these songs. I felt that the album title frames that perspective accurately.
“I still struggle with repeating choruses for some reason, but, hey, it’s a work in progress.”
Sometimes the rat race or long commute can provide the best head space for creative escapism – as was the case for you and this project. What was your feeling as you were writing the songs on the way to work, and did your role at the Grocery Store allow for much creative daydreaming in between?
Having a nearly one hour commute to work allows for two hours of listening to and focusing on music. I’ve been digging into the 1970s soft rock SiriusXM channel lately, but I’m also deep into an Eno kick right now. The drive allows me to actively discern the layers and instrumentation of songs, without distractions. I’d get little bursts of musical ideas listening to other songs and if they were good enough, I’d remember once I parked and I could record a demo or write something out. I also don’t have a moment to daydream at work and I prefer it that way at this point. Keeps me on my toes.
Do you consciously choose what to write about, or is it a subconscious process of expression, whereby you look back on it and think ‘huh, so that’s what I was focused on’?
I don’t really make many choices, everything evolves fairly on its own. I’ll only write when I know I’m in some sort of emotional state, otherwise I can’t come up with anything worthwhile. So if I go to sit at my computer, in a good mood, I’m deciding to write an upbeat song. I’ve got the vision, you know, the scene and actors of the music and lyrics in my head. Then it slowly pieces together after a few days. I don’t really see what the song is big picture until the end of all that and then I can write all the lyrics.
You mention the seventies as an influence, something detectable in many of the layers and the style of some of these tracks. What was it about this era that stood out for you?
It’s the true and innovative approach to songwriting mixed with analog recording and mixing. I just like the way it all sounds and feels. It’s like a scent that brings happiness and fond memories, like a campfire or rain on asphalt. It’s present now in a lot of great indie bands but for me nothing beats the sound of something a bit older, distant, removed from the present.
“The song represents the sentiment that I’m not doing enough with my life, with my actions, that simply running out the duration of my time on this planet isn’t enough to fulfil some grander accomplishment or purpose.”
What can you tell us about the song I’m Hourly? Musically upbeat, experimental, energetic – qualities somewhat juxtaposed to the subject matter – what does the track mean to you?
I use the phrase “I’m hourly” at work a lot when I’m trying to convey that my efforts are based on duration and not, say, what all I can get done. The song represents the sentiment that I’m not doing enough with my life, with my actions, that simply running out the duration of my time on this planet isn’t enough to fulfil some grander accomplishment or purpose.
This particular song, and others like Orpheus, have an air of indie acts like Courtney Barnett and Shame. Do you listen to the modern indie scene much, or are you strictly nostalgic in your music choices?
A lot of the modern music I listen to isn’t really represented in the sounds I end up creating but I still dig it. Shannon Lay is one of my favorite modern artists, someone who could really teach a masterclass in songwriting and emotion. I’ve really been into The Bobby Lees lately, a really modern sound to an age old garage rock foundation. I do have the problem where I write these songs and then realize I have no idea what the genre is or what artists are similar, and it’s the blogs and reviewers I end up talking to who guide me to some really great modern music because of that.
What about Intermission – what prompted you to create and to include this one on the album?
I wrote that riff on a melodica sitting on the dock of a lake in Maine a few months back. I was feeling a bit musically despondent and it kinda just fell out of my fingers. When I was finishing up the album I knew I wanted a quick musical break, something I think all albums should have, a breather. It helps divide the album into Side A and B even if I’m not pressing vinyl or cassettes for it.
Which song on the project is your personal favourite to perform, and why?
Atlas Obscura is the most “song” song I’ve written in a while and I enjoy all the instrumentation on it. Not only do I like playing the piano for it, the drums, all that, but it’s the first song I’ve sang where I was like – yeah, that works.
I have trouble figuring out where to fit my voice into these songs because I’m used to more of a screaming sing in my previous projects. Atlas Obscura gave me the confidence that I can not only write an optimistic song but that I can actually sing how I want to.
Do you hope to set up a tour for this, and if so – will that be with a full band, or will you keep it a solo venture? (If the latter, what would the stage show be like?)
Once I move back into Boston I’ll try to get a full band together – really, as many people as I possibly can. I’ll probably have a second album done by then. In the meantime I’ve been trying to figure out how to go about it solo, stripped down.
It’s hard thinking that way because the songs are so dependent on all the different layers and juxtapositions, so even going “solo” means I might have one or two other people backing me. We’ll see what transpires this year!
“ I hardly know what I’m doing . I got my drum kit maybe a month before recording this.”
Where do you imagine people listening to this album, and who do you think will connect with it the most?
I envision this as an on-the-go, doing-something record. Running errands, driving somewhere, folding laundry. My ideal demographic, though small, would be musicians who want to do more themselves. I tried to listen to solo artists who did a lot of work themselves, like Todd Rundgren, to inspire me to do the same. I’m hoping to pass that on even in a small way.
What’s something about you that listeners might be surprised to hear?
I was originally going to only release Atlas Obscura, scrap everything else. I eventually felt proud and complete enough to polish off the rest of the tracks and release them as well. Also, it might not be that much of a surprise, but, I hardly know what I’m doing. I got my drum kit maybe a month before recording this, and I have very little experience playing piano. Writing and recording is a lot of where I practice, I have a hard time sitting down and not writing something new.
Is there anything else we should know?
There will likely be a lot more music to wade through this year. I’m also trying to turn all the brooding, krautrocky synth-based songs into a pile of tracks to use as instrumentals, maybe for a little 2D video game… but that’s a whole other story to delve into another time.
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