Introducing | Francis Shane

One autumn morning four years ago, Francis was driving to his day job when everything changed.

Deciding to leave his 9 to 5 job immediately to follow his dream of making music, he moved to New York City with no job and no money, focussing on his passion to create his own music.

With the release of his debut EP ‘LOVECOAST’, we spoke to Francis about the fateful day he turned to music, his influences and his live sets.

How did it feel to drop everything in your life and turn to making music?

It was equal parts liberating and terrifying. Part of me knew I had to follow the natural creative urge to do something different and follow my instincts, and the other part of my head was screaming out loud “are you crazy??”. I started to realise the natural part of any creative process is being able to maintain perspective and channel self-doubt and uncertainty in to something positive. Stepping away from a safe and stable career to pursue something where the chances of you being “successful” are completely against your favour was certainly challenging. And it still is. But, I always told myself to listen to my urges and at least give this all a fair shot.

It’s been four years since you made the decision, how have things progressed since then?

Sometimes we forget to take a step back and look at ourselves from a broad perspective. When I do that, I realise it’s been a challenging yet progressive ride. During those four years, I moved to New York City and can now call this place my home. It always felt like home, and now it’s tough to imagine being anywhere else. It really is a very inspiring place to be. When I came here, I bounced around the city looking for the right engineer and chemistry and somewhere along the way I met producer and engineer Tom Gardner (Chromeo, Mos Def). We recorded a 10-track LP in between me working full-time in the city to pay the bills. It was about two years straight of coming home from work and going right to the studio. Not much of a social life for a while there. But, we finished it and now it’s time to get it out there. I think we created something pretty unique.

Which artists/bands do you take influence from?

It’s a weird mix of alt r&B (Miguel, d’Angelo, Frank Ocean), rap (Kanye, Kendrick), and rock (Nirvana, Radiohead).

How did you go about the recording process for your recent EP release?

I happened to meet Tom Gardner just as he was opening up his own shop in Brooklyn. We recorded 10 tracks (LP out later this year), but decided to test out the waters with the first four. Everything was self-produced and written during those 2-3 years and everything was recorded in Brooklyn (Rift Studios). We also brought in a good friend of ours Ian Sherman to help with the drums and programming. He brought a really unique and fresh perspective which was great.

Which track would you recommend our readers check out first?

‘ROCKSTAR’ for some chilled vibes, ‘ROSEGOLD’ for that sunny day vibe. I think there’s something for everyone.

How would you describe your live sets?

They’re developing … still trying to find the right balance in the line-up and figuring out how the songs translate best live, but I’m playing more and more locally in NYC and along in the East Coast in places like Baltimore, D.C., and Philly. We try to bring the songs and energy to life and take you to these worlds that the songs speak of. We want you to feel like you’ve actually been to this fictional world of ‘LOVECOAST’.

Do you have any plans to come to the UK?

It’s definitely a dream to be able to tour in the UK and Europe. Visiting London is one of my dreams. Hopefully in the near future we can make it happen. We will see.

Anything else you wish to add?

Thanks again for your support and taking the time to listen. I’ll be following up with a full ten track LP later this year. Hope to be playing a show in your area soon.

Keep up-to-date with Francis Shane:
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