Francis is a Swedish
folk quintet formed in
Mora, Sweden
Mora is a locality and the seat of Mora Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 10,896 inhabitants in 2010.
History
There are signs of human activity in the surroundings of Mora dating from 4000 BC. The earliest found buildings in Mora ar ...
in 2006 and currently based in
Falun. The band consists of vocalist Petra Mases, drummer Petter Nygårdh, guitarist Jerker Krumlinde, bassist Paulina Mellkvist and keyboardist Oskar Bond. The band was originally conceived as a
punk interpretation of
American folk music. Francis has gained a following in the DIY community of Sweden as well as in the other
Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, where they performed at the Fabriq Festival in 2012.
Beginnings
Francis has its origins in the DIY scene in Mora. During the break after their first album in 2011, released only in Sweden, the band members experienced several changes in their personal lives as well as changes in the lineup. Due to these changes, the band refrained from putting out a full album until 2016.
2015-Present: ''Marathon''
In October 2015, Francis released their first worldwide single, ''Follow Me Home'', to be featured on their album ''Marathon''. The band collaborated with producer Nicolas Vernhes to create a "crisp, lucid guitar-pop" contrasting with melancholy lyrics. The song focuses on lyrics at first and then shifts focus to the instrumentals. This single met with mostly positive reviews in underground blogs, with one reviewer proclaiming them "a name to remember" and ''Follow Me Home'' a "5-minute wonder."
Musical style and influences
The original founders of Francis aimed to put a punk spin on modern folk music, citing American musicians
Tom Waits and
Patti Smith. On the album ''Marathon'', the band's sound evolved into a softer
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
sound, and they began to focus on politics, including issues of
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, as well as issues of gender equality.
Band members
Vocalist Petra Mases and drummer Petter Nygårdh were part of Francis's initial makeup. The band's forthcoming ''Marathon'' will be their first recording to feature the current lineup. Mases previously worked as a composer for a short film.
Discography
Albums
* ''Lekomberg, We Were Kin'' (2011)
* ''Marathon'' (2016)
EPs
* ''This Must Be Blood'' (2012)
Singles
* ''Follow Me Home'' (2015)
* “Swing” (2017)
* “Wild Heart (2018)
References
{{Authority control
Swedish folk music groups