Aimee Francis is armed with a raw honesty and emotional understanding that gives her lyrics life. The 23 year old from Sydney has had a big year, playing SXSW in the US in March and recently supporting P!NK on 4 of her Australian dates. The gifted musician has a maturity and clarity that is evident in her work, and has been bringing that gift to small and large audiences all around the country. Aimee chats to Lip about heartbreak, being strong and the pressures to ‘look good’.

I was in America in March to tour and play at South By Southwest festival in Austin, which was awesome fun. I did a small run of tour dates up the coast before gritting my teeth into writing more and getting my live band locked and ready. We were lucky enough to play at the State Theatre in Sydney in May and just finished 4 dates supporting P!NK at AllPhones Arena which was pretty surreal. I’m about to head off to do a show for the university crowd in Ourimbah!

Are you a big fan of P!NK? What did this gig mean for you?

It was absolutely amazing. I love her energy and showman(woman!)ship, and of course her voice is just mind-blowing. She inspires me a lot and sets the bar pretty high. It was great to meet her fans, too. I made the effort to make sure I went outside before every show to introduced myself.

At the moment you’re playing intimate venues around the country. Does this type of gig appeal to you? Has this allowed you to really connect with audiences?

I love playing to people, period. Big venues, small venues – if the people are digging it then the band and I are doing something right!!

In Loser’s Game, we’re hearing a story that most people are familiar with. How important is it for people to have music to guide them through heartbreak?

I never write songs FOR people in mind – I’m just writing what I’m seeing/feeling. I totally get what you mean, though – soooo many albums pop into my head when I think of a breakup, or a song will come on the radio and take me straight back to a place or emotion. Music is unbelievable and if I can reach out to people and get them to FEEL , then I am ecstatic.

The single is about the pitfalls of love and of getting your heart broken, but there’s an element of strident hope there too. Is there strength to be found at the bottom of these situations?

Yes. I never realised, and when you’re in the middle of a breakup or a sad place it is a real struggle to see that. Then you climb over your hill, and go ‘holy shit, this all makes sense now’, or you realise how much you’ve grown because of a situation.

Female artists seem to constantly straddle a difficult line. They’re expected to look good, but not to cave to industry pressure. How do you navigate this?

I got that pretty early on. I’ve been playing live since I was 15 – I had management that basically told me I needed to change everything about my physical self for Hollywood to accept me (I was living in Los Angeles at the time). Did it get to me? Hell yes. I didn’t even have a clue as to who I was then, so somebody telling me I wasn’t good enough or didn’t look like what I needed to look like wasn’t fun. I learnt from it once I got over that hill, though. It has taken me years. But I finally feel comfortable in my shell. There will always be things I wish were different with how I look, but thats a human trait right? I’ve learnt that I am who I am, full stop. There will always be that full stop at the end, and if industry/critics have something to say about that then so be it, but at least I’ll always be true to myself.

Out of all the songs you’ve written, which one feels closest to your heart?

They’re all personal experiences so they’re all close to my heart. I was definitely most vulnerable in Control, though. It’s so raw with just the vocals and piano, and those lyrics rung so true.

What do you want to achieve by the end of the year?

I’m really excited by the way it is heading! I’ve got a full run of Australian dates that I’m currently doing, I’d love to write a few more songs and gear up for next year. It will be a big one.

If our readers head to one of your shows, what can they expect?

A good time – my live band are amazing musicians and I love them to pieces. I think that chemistry comes out on stage, too. And we vibe off the crowd too. When the band’s on fire and the crowd lap it up – it’s going to be a great gig.

 

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