Berlin-based indie five-piece People Club are back with new single and video "Francine", following on from their last release "Lay Down Your Weapons", which focused on police brutality.
The new single "Francine" tackles the topics of addiction and lovelessness. In the words of the band said "The song speaks from the voice of a lamenting partner whose lover (Francine) is helplessly addicted to drugs. Francine lost interest in her relationship with the narrator a long time ago. It's a song about commitment and how love can fade away leaving only wickedness behind."
Regarding the visuals, the band said "The 'Francine' video is a play on the old idiom of 'being your own worst enemy'. A phrase which quite beautifully captures the inner critic which we know so well, especially during the course of the pandemic - we've had to learn to each give ourselves a break. The video was shot in the depth of the harsh Berlin winter, in the depth of the pandemic."
Director Felix Spitta added "I love the band and I love the different personalities. It is always heaps of fun working on creative output together. Riding through Berlin only with bikes and all the film equipment in the freezing cold almost felt like a masochistic idea from Saxon. It's inspiring to be surrounded by so many creative minds.”
Listen to & watch "Francine" here: https://youtu.be/tKBsp7f9PPo
Mixing the lo-fi, slacker sensibility of Mac DeMarco’s earlier output with the soulful arrangements of Detroit-era Tamla Motown records, the five-piece mesh lavish synthesisers, lilting guitars and tough east coast vocals to create a sound that is truly their own.
Forming in Berlin in the sticky summer of 2018, the band met online over the seedy pages of craigslist. Guitarist Saxon Gable had placed an ad amongst the foot fetishists, looking for like-minded individuals to start a serious musical project. Uniquely, none of the five (soon to be band members) were German, they were all immigrants who had either just moved to the city, or were in the process of doing so when they responded to the ad.
Saxon and bassist Ray Sonder had just left their lives in Sydney, Australia to return to Berlin where they had spent a summer previously. Shortly afterwards, they met keyboardist Pete Costello, a no-nonsense northerner from Leeds, leaving his life as a club promoter behind him in London. In the following months, they were joined by drummer Drew Deal, a Kiwi from the North Island who was producing records in Capgun studios there and finally, singer Sarah Martin from Boston, Massachusetts who was getting frustrated with her life in NYC. Sarah felt forced out of the USA, becoming increasingly disillusioned and frustrated by her country and its politics.
It soon became clear that all five members shared a common vision and a desire for their music to say something. Built on a love of the traditions and recording techniques of the great American records of the 1970s and the artistry of Marvin Gaye, and Gil Scott Heron in particular, the band started to write songs with a message.
The band spent their first year locked in their studio, writing and discarding over 40 songs before emerging with their first release, the split 12” 'Lonesome/Better'. Met immediately with positive acclaim, the tracks were played extensively on BBC radio 1, with Lonesome picked by Jack Saunders as one of his coveted “Next Wave” tracks.
After impressive sell out first headline shows in London and Berlin, the band started to attract industry attention. Signing with ie:music, legendary London based management company and Sarah Besnard at ATC- Live, renowned for breaking Fontaines DC, the band were poised for a huge year in 2020. Confirmed shows at The Great Escape, Electric Picnic and many more were all wiped out by COVID-19. Not to be deterred, the band capitalised on the lockdown, using the lack of gigs to focus on writing.
'Francine' artwork:
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