Having harboured aspirations of being a jazz saxophonist, studying improvisation at school and university, it was the textural pop of acts such as Panda Bear and The Books that set him off track. Gradually, through exploring composition over playing, music making became more laptop focused, and the saxophone became a sampling tool rather than the sole outlet for musical expression. This is reflected in the first single, and title track from the EP ‘Braver’.
Braver is an open letter to friends. In Edward’s words, “I think being honest and open with your friends, even with those you feel the closest, can be a difficult thing. One of the hardest things can be admitting how important they are to you. This song is about making that effort.” Swirling saxophones and scattered vocals are accompanied by driving micro-house drums which please as much as they can disorientate.
Taking an interest in songwriting, Edward began revisiting instruments learnt earlier in his life, such as the guitar and piano as well as running a choir. Having spent a lot of time playing as part of different instrumental ensembles, music making gradually became more production focused. It was after escaping to Berlin in 2012 where this idea really took over and musical expression became a thing that was centred almost entirely around the home studio.
Now inspired by more electronic acts, such as DJ Koze, Caribou and Kieran Hebden, Edward is living in Alice Springs where he is re-arranging and re-recording some of the songs that were first conceived in Berlin, as well as generating new material. It is within these recordings that we find the Braver EP, split between two opposing cities, both in spirit and sound.
credits
from Braver EP,
track released February 5, 2015
Written and Produced by Edward Francis
Mastered By Corey Kikos
Artwork by Alanna Lorenzon
Zero Through Nine 2015
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