WFM: Hello guys! Thankyou for agreeing to do this interview! Really like your music, especially your upcoming single ‘Puppet’, because of how heavy it is.
Jen: Thank you! We like mixing heavy with fun which I think we captured in ‘Puppet’.
WFM: Before we start, top 3 albums and why?
Nicole: 1. the Zombies Odyssey and Oracle. Why, the harmonies are beautiful & the arrangements are so sad and uplifting at the same time, I can always find space in my mind to listen to this album. Once the volume on my record player kept changing, I think this album or my house is haunted.
2. Hawkwind Warrior at the edge of time. Again, another classic that has rock, psych all mixed in one,. I’m not usually a fan of the sax but it works so bloody well.
3. Sonic Youth Daydream Nation: saw them back at M.I.T. In Boston, blew me away and changed my perception on making music
Jen: Wow, that’s a tough one! 3 of my favourites for sure are:
1) Mando Diao- Hurricane Bar – This was my first true love in rock music. It really takes me back places. Many happy memories!
2) Beatles- Rubber Soul – It’s just such a lovely record, and so different to all the other ones Beatles did. I just love it!
3) Queens Of The Stone Age- Lullabies to Paralyze – Every song on this album makes me want to get up and swing my hair around. My favourite QOTSA album by far!
WFM: And you’re musical icon and why? Sorry just questions we enjoy asking because of the answers we get!
Nicole: I have no Icons, too overrated and most of them are dead and for that I can’t have a dead Icon. Sorry, lame answer…
Jen: Debbie Harry. I would marry her in a heartbeat! No other reason other than that she’s amazing.
WFM: Okay, now we can start! How did the band come to be?
Nicole : We met up in London, brought together by various happenings. The band had had a few songs before I joined. When I got behind the drums it just took off. It was that moment when you know, shit, this is really good…we have different influences but it so works.
Jen: We all met in London and formed The Frankly’s in late 2011. Me and Fanny have known each other since lower school and started playing music together in our mid teens. We moved to London when we were 19, and met Zoe & Nicole a few years later. Though we’re from 3 different parts of the world, it just works so well.
WFM: We really enjoyed your previous song ‘My Love’ and now we’re hooked on your new one ‘Puppet’, so we’re just wondering what sort of bands influenced that?
Nicole: Both Puppet and My Love just came together in a jam. We had no intentions with either song. When we write, sometimes one will have a riff, but we build together. We all encourage each other in parts with suggestions. It’s great, with egos aside we can work as a team to get the best sound. We never have an influence and say, “We need to sound like this” if we did that, I don’t think we would be writing this interview. It would be too contrived and honestly not real. Glad you like them..!!
Jen: Thank you. We have so many different influences, it’s actually really hard to start name dropping bands. When we write songs, it just kinda happens. We never really have a plan, we jam, everyone has their input and the finished result is usually something new and unique. We always like to keep each song different from the other, mixing a lot of our different influences into one melting pot. I can’t actually say what or who influenced us in writing ‘Puppet’, it just came naturally!
WFM: How did you find the recording process of your new song?
Nicole: The recording process was fun. We recorded for the first time on 2” tape, for me, being the drummer, it’s a lot of pressure as I have to be spot on from start to finish. I do get a bit stressed as I can mess with my head if I think to hard when playing. We put backing vocals on and had a listen back and were like, nah…doesn’t work. We’re all on the same page most of the time. I know we have definite ideas of our sound and some may say we are opinionated but hey, we want the best result and won’t settle for less.
Jen: Real fun! We recorded on 2″ tape for the first time at Fish Factory, same place where we did our EP. Kinda feels like our second home now!
WFM: On the topic of recording, who would you like to record with?
Nicole: I don’t know..never really thought about that. I know there’s a place in Wales I would like to record at. It’s a small village and you go there for however long, 2 weeks, set up home & the studio and record when ready. To me that would be ideal as we could jam new material and write off the cuff without the pressures of time constraints.
Jen: I think Josh Homme would be the perfect producer for our album. I reckon he’d know exactly what to do with us.
WFM: Is there any back-story to the song, or was it just out of the blue?
Nicole: Outside of the vocals, it came out of jamming. Jen has a journal of lyrics where she pulls from, they’re her life experiences. Once we hear the vocal pattern, melody, we all get a feel for the tempo and aggressiveness needed.
Jen: The lyrics are about the emotional game of keeping someone hanging and hanging. I think almost everyone has experienced this at some point in their lives.
WFM: We really like the fact that you are a band of girls, because it’s something you rarely see especially in rock/indie music. Do you think this is something that is slowly being turned now with the introduction of bands like Haim and Savages?
Nicole: Yeah, I think it’s great that there are bands like Savages etc…I still think it is very hard for girls in the all boys club. To be taken seriously is hard work. We are never going to sell ourselves in a sexual way, and we are going to continue to create music from inside that can be boy music or girl music. I really hope that the industry takes girl bands into consideration. I mean, we’re multi-taskers, sensitive yet sensible hard workers Men are too but girls have a different type intuition that can’t be replaced by the other sex. I want to see men and girls supporting more girl bands and stop idolising the “the boy band”. Come on girls, go out and support the girl bands making real music you like!! its 2014, it’s about time we’re equal. It makes me think about Wimbledon tennis Championships, why do the men get paid more than the women for doing the same thing. Definitely not fair!
Jen: Possibly. It’s great to see that more and more female bands are popping up, meaning that the music industry actually does care about women in music.
WFM: We know that the music industry is considered to be one of the most patriarchal businesses out there, have you encountered any of this behavior so far?
Nicole: Yeah, as in the above, it’s hard but we’re going to stick to our guns and let the music speak for itself. In that, I feel we can turn around the perception the business has of women. “We can do it!!”
Jen: Absolutely. We love men, but sometimes they love themselves a bit too much as well. Being a woman in the music biz definitely has its ups and downs. I think the biggest issue is that people don’t expect the same thing from women as they do from men. In the end we’re playing music just like any other band and I wish it wouldn’t be so much about the gender.
WFM: We discovered that you toured America, what was that like?
Nicole: Its was freakin’ good!! I’m the American so it was great to show my best friends, my band mates, where I come from & all the great food!!! While we were over there it was Halloween, and the Americans really know how to celebrate. The music scene is really supportive out there, especially the smaller towns. People thrive on touring bands from outside the US and really show an appreciation. We can’t wait to go back. My dad is working on a tour, haha – all thorough word of mouth..he’s not in the music biz if that’s what you’re thinking, he’s just a cool guy, a mad Italian, who loves me and the band!
Jen: America was amazing in every way! The crowd, the food, the people. It was a dream come true. Definitely want to go back soon!
WFM: We know you will be playing the Yard Life Festival this year, is there anywhere else we can expect to see you?
Nicole: Yes, we’re looking forward to Yard Life, I have 2 family members with MS so for me, this is a very personal appreciation to play. We are also going to be taking the stage at Strawberry Fields Festival. We are so psyched! We are looking to do a UK tour and have had offers of bookings in Berlin, just trying to work out funds, as the story goes. We’ll be in London playing various clubs, come & say hello, we’d LOVE it!!
Jen: Yes, plenty of shows coming up actually! Next up is our Single Launch on April 2nd at Barfly in Camden. We also just announced we’re playing the Main Stage at this year’s ‘Strawberry Fields Festival’ in August. You should come!
WFM: I will try to make it! If my bank account lets me! Thank you ever so much girls for the interview, all the best with your new single.
Interview carried out by Alex Wise @al4563
You can listen to their debut EP here.
Their new single Puppet will be released on 20th March, catch the review here!
Words For Music - New Music Reviews 