{"id":635,"date":"2020-08-24T15:58:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T15:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2020\/2020\/08\/24\/interview-brooklyns-francis-aud-releases-fonky-single\/"},"modified":"2020-08-24T15:58:00","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T15:58:00","slug":"interview-brooklyns-francis-aud-releases-fonky-single","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2020\/2020\/08\/24\/interview-brooklyns-francis-aud-releases-fonky-single\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Brooklyn’s Francis Aud Releases FONKY Single"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brooklyn <\/a>electro-pop funk artist Francis Aud<\/a> recently released his newest single \u201cTake Me Home<\/a>,\u201d blending bittersweet lyrics with an upbeat and unique electric funk.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Francis<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Francis Aud started out as a retro-soul artist and released his debut EP Tender Things<\/a><\/em> in July 2017. Since then, his music has evolved into what he calls ‘FONK,’ his own original blend of electro-pop and funk. This refreshing mix gives his music personality and makes his sound memorable. Francis tells NYS Music:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My biggest inspirations are Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and Sam Cooke. From listening to those guys, I then found Jackie Wilson, James Brown, and then followed the thread of musicians they influenced all the way up to contemporary pop artists like Bruno Mars and Parcels.<\/p>Francis Aud<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What he listened to as a child has been \u201ccarried in his psyche,\u201d and he says that listening to \u201csuper romantic Spanish crooner music or The Commodores\u201d all the time as a kid still influences his own writing style today. \u201cI almost exclusively write about love, relationships, and desire and I still try to phrase the lines I sing like how a crooner would\u2026old habits die hard I guess!\u201d He\u2019s been releasing several FONKY singles since 2018 in preparation for a bigger release in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTake Me Home\u201d looks back on a past relationship with bittersweet nostalgia. \u201cWhen it comes to lyric-writing,\u201d Francis says, \u201cI\u2019m always trying my best not to write lyrics that aren\u2019t devoid of meaning (if that makes sense.) I think lots of the time when people hear the words ‘pop music’ their mind immediately jumps to this idea of extremely surface level and superficial lyrics that come from lazily relying on overused tropes and clich\u00e9s. I think good pop music doesn\u2019t have to be devoid of a deeper meaning and there\u2019s lots of proof around me of that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Francis
Photo courtesy of Amanda Blide <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Despite its somewhat sad message, the single is in no way a downer. It\u2019s upbeat and dancey. \u201cThat comes from my shameless love of 80\u2019s music,\u201d the artist admits. \u201cI seriously, positively, TRULY, love music from the 80\u2019s, especially the movie soundtracks where the arrangements were super over the top and used cheesy keyboard sounds on everything. Because that music makes me happy, I think it\u2019d be worth exploring the juxtaposition between that music and the lyrics and I\u2019m just lucky to call it a success!\u201d The 80\u2019s vibes in \u201cTake Me Home\u201d are clear, but with an original and modern spin that is lacking in some other \u201ccheesy\u201d pop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis Aud\u2019s music and website<\/a> both shine with his positivity and humor. \u201cI don\u2019t think I can ever remember a time where I wasn\u2019t blatantly making terrible dad jokes and puns,\u201d he says about his ever-present humor. \u201cIn terms of positivity,\u201d he notes, \u201cI think it comes from both my parents and also comes with the territory of being a musician. With my parents being immigrants and coming to this NYC during the really rough 80s\u2019-90\u2019s, they had to work their asses off to make things happen and they had to have an optimism that things would work out. I think I naturally picked up on that. ALSO, when it comes to being an artist, you almost have to force train yourself to become more positive on a daily basis because there really is no guarantee that your art will be heard or even enjoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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