Music spotlight: Franky Taylor-Lester

You may have heard of Franky Taylor-Lester already as part of The C Word Summer Series on our IGTV throughout August, and if not, you can re-live Franky’s performance here. We were so glad then to be a promote Franky’s latest song release, Real Life, as well as find out a little more about what makes her tick, how she wrote her new song about her frustration with social media and what women inspire her.

When did you first start singing and writing your own songs?

I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember, but think I properly starting taking lessons when I was five and was actually classically trained up until I was eighteen. I think I started writing songs when I was around ten. I have a vague memory of a song that I wrote in year 7, which I’m sure would me cringe to the depths of my soul, LOL. I remember writing a song called ‘My Mistake’ when I was fifteen which felt like a real turning point in my song writing as it felt like I’d found my storytelling style, the song is quite far away stylistically from the type of songs I write now, but it felt like my first ‘grown up’ song. 

Where did the inspiration come from for your new song Real Life and when will we be able to hear it?

I wrote ‘Real Life’ just over a year ago about my frustration with the affect that social media has over our lives, to be honest mainly calling out myself as much as anyone else. I’m as guilty as the next person, constantly checking Instagram or Twitter and cringing when my phone notifies me of my weekly screen time. The song is basically like a reminder that we should all be more present in our own lives, whether that be when we’re spending time with friends, going to the supermarket or whatever. One of the lines in the song goes ‘Don’t want to miss my best bits cos I’m distracted, never present in the moment but always active’ and that kind of sums up what the song is about. Like when we’re looking back on our lives, we want to look back at all the memories we’ve made rather than the time we’ve spent stuck in an TikTok hole or feeling shitty because we’re sat comparing ourselves to an Instagram model. I think social media is amazing in so many ways and especially during this pandemic it’s been a godsend for keeping in touch with the people you love but it can be hard to differentiate between the good sides and the bad sides of it because the lines are so blurred.

Real Life is being released on all major streaming platforms on the 30th October! 

What is your writing process like and where does your inspiration come from?

I’m a real lyrics person so I generally start a song with lyrics first and I’ll usually come up with a vague melody at the same time. A lot of the time I base songs off of short ideas and will expand from there. I do occasionally sit down to write a full song from scratch - though usually I find that’s when I run into writers block so only really do that if I’ve got something I really feel like I need to get off my chest. I take inspiration from everything really. Experiences I’ve had, experiences my friends have had, things I’ve seen on TV or in films. I try not to write solely songs about romantic relationships - that’s why I wanted to release ‘Real Life’ as my debut single because it’s nothing to do with love. 

What other women inspire you?

To be honest I’m inspired by all women! The amazing women I have as friends and the women in my family, I’m just constantly in awe of them and they inspire me every day. I feel like in terms of music, my ‘lyrical voice’ (if that’s a thing lol) wouldn’t be what it was without being moulded by all the women I’ve known – how they handle situations or talk about their experiences has shaped how I write my songs. I’ve always been inspired by women with powerful voices, I grew up listening to a lot of Motown and disco because of my parents and so the likes of Aretha Franklin, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King (plus so many more) are the types of voices that make me feel empowered whenever I listen to them, and to be honest how could you not? I’ve also always felt really connected to Amy Winehouse’s honest approach to writing music and have definitely taken inspiration from elements of her song writing.

What other artist would you most like to collaborate with?

I have to say that my all-time dream collaboration would be Frank Ocean, just because I love everything he does and have done since I first heard Channel Orange when I was fifteen (still patiently waiting for his third album by the way). Equally I love dance music so much but would never have any idea how to approach making it so that would be a really exciting collaboration for me. I think I’d reach the pinnacle of my entire career if I ever got to sing on a garage track. To work with a liquid drum and bass producer like Lenzman would be incredible, I love his soulful approach to dnb. I’ve also loved some of the collaborations Ezra Collective have done in the past like with Jorja Smith or Loyle Carner, so to get to work on a jazz track like that would be really fucking cool.

What are your opinions on being a women in the music industry? 

Now is an incredibly exciting time to be a woman in the music industry in my opinion. There are obviously some glaring inequalities with it still being a mainly male dominated business, however I do think that women’s voices are being heard now more than ever and there are a lot of amazing women breaking boundaries and doing incredible things and most importantly making some really fucking good music. It’s a real shame that, for example, we still don’t see enough representation of women within the live industry such as at some of the mainstream festivals like Reading & Leeds. But I do think these topics are being discussed and challenged more now, which I guess is always a good place to start.

What’s your favourite song?

I’ve got two favourite songs up my sleeve for if I’m ever asked this question (‘Try a Little Tenderness’ by Otis Redding and ‘Landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac) but truthfully I’ve got a long list of favourite songs that range from Garage to Disco to Motown to R&B and so on, I could never choose just one! I also try not to over listen to my favourite songs, I’ve thought about putting them all in a playlist but I’m worried I’ll listen to them too much and ruin them for myself!

What are your next plans in 2020 and 2021? Is there an album on the horizon?

I’ve got a few more songs ready to release after ‘Real Life’ comes out and then will probably be building towards releasing an EP in 2021. Making a full album is definitely the goal but I’m not sure when that will be. Hopefully in 2021 I’ll get to play some live shows as well, that’s something I really miss being able to do.