(Photographer Johann Beute)
Frances Clare is an enigmatic Cape Town based five-piece band who have shared stages with Mango Groove, Matthew Mole, Majozi, Freshlyground and more. Today sees the release of their new EP Gold, a natural blend of acoustic and electric instruments including violin. The authentic nuance brought in by guitarist Devon de Swardt and SAMA award winning violinist, Tricia Brink-Jones, combines with Frances’ lyrics to create a unique sound. Add a splash of South African flavour and you have a fresh new favourite on the South African music scene.
“Not all that glitters is gold and not all that is gold glitters”, the title track and the entire EP is about keeping your head in the clouds and daring to chase your dreams.
“It is so easy to be caught up in materialistic things and the pressure to achieve success. I truly believe that music and musicians exist to inspire the world and to prove that it is possible to follow your dreams. Myself and my band are all music teachers and this song is about placing our dreams over gold.” Says Frances on the inspiration behind the album. “To me there are many things in this world that are Gold. This EP is a collection of songs exploring the concept of something- a moment, a person, a dream- being invaluable.” She adds.
Frances comments on the recording process, “This was a lot of fun. Two of the tracks, Clouds Over Gold and Broken Girl were recorded early last year. The other two, Over Again and Easy, saw us in studio for the best part of a day recording the bass, drums and guitar at Sun Studios in Stellenbosch. This was an extremely memorable day as the studio was experiencing some technical issues and we ended up recording our songs with some time pressure. Violin and vocals were all recorded at David Vorster from Frozenheart Productions and consisted of way too many of us squishing into the vocal booth because we wanted to be sure that the pressure was on to get the best take! These songs really came alive on our tour to the National Arts Festival and it was special to get into the studio and immortalise them.”
Gold is available now on all digital platforms including:
Frances Clare has performed across South Africa at venues including the V&A Waterfront. They have featured on National television multiple times including live performances on Expresso Morning Show on SABC 3 and SABC 2’s Hectic Nine 9. The band enjoys radio play on several of South Africa’s radio stations and has been interviewed on SAFM, Cape Talk, Smile FM and more. Leadsinger, Frances, has her own show on One FM 94.0 and has interviewed music greats such as James Morrison and Claire Johnston.
March tour of GOLD
22- Greenpop Reforest Friends Festival, Hermanus
23- Ecolodge, Greyton
24- Mujos, George
– Surf Cafe, Plett
25- Wild Spirit, Nature’s Valley
26- JBay
27- East London
28- Port Elizabeth
29- Oysters and Tapas, Knysna
30- Fairy Knowe, Wilderness