FEATURE: Frances Eliza Shares Meditative New Single “Daughter” & Multiple Interpretations In Latest Q&A
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Asheville-based singer-songwriter Frances Eliza blends her love of songwriting with her passion for jazz, indie-folk, and pop music. Her jarring, unexpected lyrics and intricate melodies delve into the challenges of human relationships from the perspective of an independent-minded young woman and musician.
Since bringing her sound to life with her 2019 debut EP Sleepwalking, Frances returned to the studio in fall 2020 to record new music with producers and multi-instrumentalists Cole Covington (vocals, guitar, bass), and Daniel Harris (drums). With a new album on the horizon, Frances has shared her latest single “Daughter”, a track that showcases her evolution into more orchestral and vibrant arrangements to elevate her haunting vocals and striking jazz-infused musicality.
Influenced by the likes of Alice Phoebe Lou and Phoebe Bridgers, Frances finds strength in simplicity, effortlessly floating her vocals over a hypnotic guitar line with swelling string and synthetic instruments compounding together. About the song, Frances shares: “The lyrics, much like in my other single “Intertwined” were written in fragments and solidified over the course of a couple months as I explored possible directions to go with the story. Similarly to some of my other songs, every time I perform “Daughter” I interpret the lyrics very differently and connect to it in a new way. In this piece, I’ve tried to infuse an array of sounds with the imagery of human connection, hope, and loss”.
Listen to the single here and discover more about Frances Eliza and her music just past in the latest Q&A article.
You mentioned that there are different interpretations of the song. What was the first?
So, much like in my other single “Intertwined,” I started “Daughter” with the guitar section first. I felt like the chord changes were simple yet captivating and I really wanted to be able to highlight them with a similarly intense and haunting melody. In writing the lyrics to “Daughter,” similarly to my song “Selkirk,” I wanted to continue to explore the inevitability of growing up and dealing with facing the truth—as hard as it may seem—about ourselves and about other people.
A majority of my new material deals with the theme of growing and learning to see myself and the people who surround me in new lights. With the lyrics to “Daughter,” part of it was that I wanted to capture that feeling of thinking that you don’t have people on your side. In the verses to this song, I try to depict that feeling of loneliness that kids sometimes experience as they grow up and start to gain some independence. I remember when I was in middle school, sometimes I’d feel alone or disconnected from my friends and family, a feeling that I think that a lot of pre-teens and teenagers experience especially. I wanted to capture that loneliness that people often feel, while at the same time emphasizing how difficult it can be to be surrounded by people. When I brought “Daughter” to my producer, Cole Covington, we made the choice to add the strings section to it. Arranged and played by Matt Laird, the addition of the upright bass, violin, and viola parts really evolved the song to a sound that I never expected.
Is there one that you feel you connect with the most?
When I perform “Daughter” at my gigs now, I am usually most connected to the lyrics in the verses. The lyrics around 0:52 are as follows, “I guess nothing really matters, except writing your own lines and telling yourself you’ll be alright, ‘I think I’ll be just fine’.” That lyric to me seems to always hold more and more true as I get older and write more songs to work through my personal and social experiences. In a later verse (around 2:38), I sing “I guess nothing needs to matter, when you’re your only friend finding yourself a sheet of paper and a warm bed.” I think that a lot of people – myself included – spend a lot of time focusing on surrounding themselves with people and staying busy, and then one of the hardest things to do is finally be alone and in your own thoughts.
How has your sound evolved for this new album?
For a long time I felt like I had to fit into one singer-songwriter folk sound, especially after admiring and listening to songwriters like Gregory Alan Isakov, Kathleen Edwards, and Joni Mitchell. I’ve realized during the recording process and production of these songs that my sound doesn’t have to fit into one genre or brand. As a jazz music major, I love to pull influence from my jazz studies into my songwriting and compositions, but I also definitely don’t want that influence to overtake my own inclination towards folk and indie-Americana music.
In one of my upcoming releases, a song entitled “Oberlin Road,” my producer and I shifted the song to a more rock sound, veering away from its original softer acoustic sound. We also reconstructed one of my other original tunes, “Little Man,” shifting it to a funkier groove. As primarily a solo performer and a solo songwriter, I’ve really had a lot of fun trying to incorporate other instruments into my songs. The past year, I’ve really tried to hone in my passion for jazz, indie-folk, and pop music with my love of storytelling, especially when playing with a band.
What do you look forward to the most with your live performances?
I love performing live. I feel like every time I perform I get to connect with the audience in new ways, whether it’s through my own songs or through the covers I play of pop and folk songs. During every performance, I definitely connect with my own songs differently, especially after seeing and hearing the audience’s reactions. I always look forward to people connecting with my songwriting in a personal way. I think if I can move someone or change someone’s perspective with some small line in a song or a melody, then I’ve done my job well.
In some of my favorite songs, there is always at least one line that sticks out to me every time and makes me want to sing along. So, I hope to accomplish the same with my music. As I get older and as things in my personal life shift, so does my interpretation of each song I sing. I recently performed almost all of my songs that will be on my upcoming release at a smaller venue in Asheville, NC, with my bandmates. The experience of performing with a band of great musicians behind me was amazing, and I’m hoping to begin to tour more with a full band.
Looking back, do you remember the feeling of performing for the first time at 13?
I remember being really nervous, but not wanting anyone to know that I was nervous. I picked up the guitar for the first time about six months before I performed live for the first time. I obviously wasn’t that comfortable with the guitar at that point, but I knew that it would only help elevate what I was singing about. At my first gig in downtown Raleigh, NC, I remember performing “Mean” by Taylor Swift and seeing everyone sing and sway along as I played. That feeling of the audience getting to connect with what I was singing—even if it was a cover—really made me want to continue playing music live as much as possible. What is also nice about thinking back to performing at 13, is how a lot of my nerves surrounding performing have really gone away. I’ve been playing a lot of solo gigs at breweries and coffee shops, especially in the past couple of years (franceseliza.com), and performing in front of people has really become my favorite part of being a songwriter and musician.
