Can you give us a bit of background on how your career evolved?
I grew up passionate about music, singing and playing the piano since I was a child.
I was born in a family of musicians and thanks to my dad and his collection of vinyl records I started listening to many artists and many different genres, from Pink Floyd and Nirvana to Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.
I’ve always been a researcher in music, I’m into electronic and psychedelic sounds.
Thanks to many influences, I was able to build my identity through sounds and with honest, autobiographical and emotional lyrics.
During 2011 I had the privilege to sing on two records in Dallas with Buddy Miles, Jimi Hendrix’s drummer and multitalented artist.
In 2014 after gigging in several different countries across the world I participated in a couple talent shows like “The Voice of Italy” and the “X-Factor” with the duo Komminuet.
In 2019 I started to create Alièn, my first concept EP, a vision that contained all the disease that the world would feel a year after.
I tried to bond music with fashion, gender fluid outfits and visual arts.
The album reached the nr.1 position on iTunes and has more than 200k streams after a year. I t was released in 2020 through Fade to Music publishing and with Rotbaum Records, a London based record label which followed my needs, supporting my ideas.
In the following months I released “Hello Monsters”, “Little Girl” and “Boy”, produced by Kevan and Daniel Baiolla, respectively my producer and my drummer. These singles anticipate my upcoming album.
How would you describe your music style?
My music style is a fusion of different genres. I would call it Avant Pop because I think it’s what gets closest to our wave.
I like to experiment but I also like to keep a radiophonic structure.
Me and the production team like to insert electronic and trippy sounds.
In terms of expression, art for me is a protest, a social commentary, escaping from reality, but it also means consciousness and truth.
What has been the best performance of your career so far? How does it feel?
Between many live shows I remember dearly the first performance in social distancing of my Alièn Tour, I had a taste of what it feels like to bring your album live on stage.
I hope to be back at gigging soon.
Have you ever written a song that’s really personal and what did it mean to you?
All of my songs are very personal so yes definitely.
My desire is that people can rely to my lyrics and feel my vibe and emotions.
My lyrics are brutally honest and I try to bring out my multiple personalities.
Who would you say are some of your favorite or most influential musicians?
The artists that influenced me the most are Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Massive Attack, Björk, Deftones, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Evanescence and t.A.t.u.
I look for new music every day on Spotify, and I add it to my playlist “Alièn – I don’t believe in humans”, I invite you to follow it.
What skills have you learned that will help you in your singing career?
Being able to play an instrument, in my case the piano, it helped me a lot in composition.
Breathing and interpreting songs are also important skills to develop.
With time I also started to manage my social media accounts myself, particularly Instagram, and I find it to be fundamental for my artistic career.
I always communicate with my fanbase and I try to post interesting and significant content.
What’s the most important thing you want people to know about you, your music, and your craft?
I want people to know that I try to evolve and learn more every day about the record business world but I never followed trends, I always trusted my gut and my feelings.
Nowadays you need to be multi-skilled and very independent especially at the beginning.
I hope that people can notice that I try to offer high value content, doing it with an independent team.
Looking forward, what are your plans, musically, for this new year?
I want to finish my new album and I want to be back at touring again.
I’m looking forward to releasing new music, hoping that it gets straight to the heart of my current and future fans.
I also would like to launch my own merch, that’s something I’m also working on.
Where can our readers keep up with your work and get connected with you?
You can find my music on all platforms and you can find more about me on Instagram @francescamonteofficial, or you can visit our website francescamonte.com