Libertine rock
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Frankistadors are rock, and roll, of course. Their leader, singer and guitarist is Françoise aka Franka Lo-Ré who started her musical career in a classical choir at the opera of Marseille and studying at the Conservatory of Grenoble. But she was born for rock’n’roll. The sounds created by The Clash or The Rolling Stones were the ones that definitely led her to form a classic rock band. Now she presents their latest album Une envie folle released last December 2011. Franka Lo-Ré with Laurent Peter (guitarist), Wilfrid Warmel aka Willos (bassist), Franck Depeyre aka Mr Billy (drummer) and Jonathan Gomis aka JoJo (guitar) are Frankistadors, une envie folle for creating classic rock music as a way of life.
Sex, drugs or rock’n’roll?
Rock’n’roll, definitely!
The last album is titled Une envie folle. What do you need crazily?
The words (about the explicit “refrain”) come from a poem of Georges Sand to Alfred de Musset, very loose “libertin in french”. The rest of the song (as many of my songs...) is just an overview of my sexual life...
Could you tell us about the process of composing and recording the album?
There is no law for me to compose... I can start with a melody or some words or both... it depends on the day, on the mood. I try to put fun, fantasy and sex in my songs to see smiles in the public. About the music I think I have no control... It’s a mix of all I love and I use to listen (especially Anglo-Saxon music, but also reggae, and since a shorter time Spanish music...). The song ”Aeroplane” was composed by Mickey Finn ( ex Heavy metals kid, Humble pie, Higelin, Nino Ferrer...) who engineered a lot of guitars on this album.
About the engineering, this album is an self-production... Luckily I met a sound engineer, when I put out my first record (Cette fille libre), who offered me to make new songs in his studio. There are several ways to engineer...sometimes we started the song very simply with acoustic guitar and voice and later the other instruments, some others with the whole band virtually live! But it takes time to release 17 songs, almost one year and a half. Actually I have 3 new songs on which we are working.
One of the songs is called Allez sans retour. Why?
This song was composed in Marseille, in the eighties with my first rock’n’roll band called “Cops & Robbers”. The story of a prisoner who escapes, he has no way back... (no return). At that time it meant for us a kind of no future!
Más dolor is a song in Spanish. Where have you learned Spanish?
I learned Spanish in the streets and with friends, in fact I’m not fluent, but if you listen it has only usual words about love, drinks and girls...The song was composed in Cadaqués, musicians were playing outside in the summer and the jams with them gave me inspiration!
What is your magic potion?
Music and love.
Have you ever felt like a Satellite?
Yeah! Since a few years I think earth for sure is more beautiful from the sky... But in the song I’m talking about the eyes and the ass of a boyfriend, who used to drink and who pushed me to look up in the sky, to forget the bad feelings down here.
Which ones are your musical influences?
The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Patti Smith, Neil young, The Clash...
Imagine a naked factory, abandoned, isolated. What would you do with it?
For sure an engineering studio and a concert hall!... But also a place for people I love...with fruits and plants... and a lake. A place where painters, sculptors, writers, musicians could feel free for their art!
FRANKISTADORS VIDEOS here
An interview by Juan Carlos Romero
Frankistadors website www.frankistadors.fr
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