Prince?!?!? LOL. More like Elaine Benes.
I do like this musicians work, but as for the 'invention' of the harmonizer voice effect - Laurie Anderson was doing such things before he was born. Let's not erase the women while idolizing the guys, please!
8
I have mixed feelings about Frances
The first selected video is him at his worst in my opinion doing a poor imitation of other artists
Here is an example of him at his artistic best IMO. The song is simple, the moves are awkward but it works for me
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cc1R1QSPuE
3
What a gorgeous piece. Thank you for sharing his story.
2
I love, love, love his music. Francis is the real deal whether he knows it or not. My hope is that he feels this in his soul sooner rather than later.
8
I am 70 years old. In just the last few months I have begun to realize I finally know what is different about me. Aspergers explains a lot.
9
Wonderful article and such a beautiful soul. Francis, I hope you live to be an old man, that you love yourself with or without any musical talent (of which you have a generous share) and that you grow more and more able to see your depression as not who or what you are, but as a momentary dip in your awareness of Love.
11
First, great job writing this article: "his body had an automatic reaction to music," and other lines that really captured him. Also, in watching the Kanye/Bon Iver video, I was struck by the White Room soundstage, and how, when he stepped off into the darkened equipment backstage part of the set, he let his body go wild. And then back onto the white set he resumed normalcy. Seemed like a metaphor for his bipolar nature. Thanks for this great article, good luck to this unique artist.
8
Wow. This artist is heavenly, eerie, deep and original. I am so happy to be introduced to him.
Francis, you are a wonder, and a light for all of us.
14
I had the pleasure of playing at a festival with Francis years ago and catched his set. It was fun! I enjoyed his music. How he has stayed in the public conversation, though, without a truly memorable song or a breakout moment is still a mystery, and one I was hoping this article would shed light on. He seems like the kind of artist you’d hear about as someone who showed potential but never followed up and so fell off the radar. How has he remained omnipresent without doing anything substantial? Is it a very talented press agent? How is he even in the same orbit of luminaries like E. Baydu or K. West? Any other artist with his potential and output would be lucky to get the occasional opening slot at Bowery Ballroom. How he’s been able to remain so well known with doing so little and still have an open invitation to the A List is one of the great mysteries of the music world. I hope he does something great with the opportunity.
1
I first heard him in a yoga class; they played “May I Have this Dance?” and I became obsessed. He reminds me of Peter Gabriel, Beck and Prince all at once. Great artist. I hope he finds his way in this crazy world.
8
First experienced this artist in his New York days when he was the opener at, I believe, Webster Hall, probably around 2010. I've long forgotten the headliner, but not Francis. I was so taken with his performance—dance-heavy and electronic that night—that I made a point to see him again at Le Poisson Rouge. No production or effects there, no laptops back then: Just him at a baby grand. And it was absolutely transcendent. I felt privileged, and lucky, to witness it. Been following him ever since; caught him in concert again at Bowery Ballroom when the Bon Iver/Kanye collabs had started to bring him some measure of recognition. He spoke openly to the audience about his struggles, and hopefully our support offered him some solace. Anyone who has ever tried to create anything will understand. To all the haters on this thread: Swallow your bile.
18
I discovered Francis & The Lights from the very first release, while I was working at Sony Music. I was a fan, instantly. His voice his writing, his seemingly ecstatically uncontrolled dancing..... I came to realize, after enjoying his music for a few years, that he made me feel something I hadn’t felt in years: inspired.
As I’ve always been drawn to enigmatic artists, his lack of interviews and obscurant persona and release schedule didn’t bother me. Still, after seeing his collaborations with renowned pop stars, and the release of “Farewell, Starlite”, I remember asking myself: “How come this guy isn’t huge? And where are his placements? His music is practically made for superlative iPhone commercials, the licensing of which would bring him a mint.”
Thanks to this piece, I finally understand him a little better, and it pains me. As a pianist myself from the age of 5, and a career musician, my life has often been lived under the surf of crippling self-doubt. This idea, presented here, of defaulting to not taking opportunities, or to not try, for the sake of guaranteeing that one will not fail, is a thorn that exponentially stings later on. And this is only compounded by mental illness, whenever or wherever it rears its ugly head.
I feel for Francis, so strongly; he’s an evocative, fantastic writer with music that lacks the vacuous, junk superficiality of much of today’s pop. His music always gives me hope, and joy.
30
I'm breathing heavily as I recognize my own struggle in this article. Decades of therapy and medication only alienated me from myself and my talents.
None of the "providers" ever suggested making art or exploring who I really was and what I had to offer. Not one! They just wanted to move me toward "normal" so I could keep a job.
I will never trust the mental health care system again. It has no idea what to do with anyone outside the norm.
Francis, there is nothing wrong with you!
There are simply so few real guides in a world full of people who can't see beyond their own coping mechanisms.
13
I caught his Twitter/periscope live broadcast a few days before the album was meant to release where he did Piano versions of his new songs (including Witness) and the unfinished album was one of the most exciting projects I heard in years. I hope to eventually hear it on a record and I hope Francis is happy. He's as big a star as Prince to me.
9
You can do it, Francis. Love includes love for yourself, too. Even greatness is a firefly in the light of the trillion supernovas in the universe. Let your light shine.
8
It saddens me to read about Francis' struggles with mental health, but the struggle between being confident in one's craft and crippling self-doubt is indeed a common one that many artists face, and I don't think that struggle ever goes away 100%. When I heard and read about how much he had immersed himself in Kanye's world, similarly to BJ, I knew that wasn't good for someone like Francis. Although he might not be able to see the damaging effects, and while they both struggle with mental illness, Kanye has settled into the belligerent, unmanageable side of it that is extremely polarizing. From what I know of Francis, "polarizing" isn't a word I think he would be okay with based on his personality alone.
As for his music, I love it! I would love to see him return to the sound that his earlier work carried. It was how I was introduced to him, and there was something about him performing with a full band that really showcased how ridiculously talented Francis is.
2
Met him at Bonaroo between Bon Iver’s two sets. I was wearing a PEOPLE shirt and he was the first person who commented on it. He was standing alone in the VIP tent smiling. Very cordial and down to earth. When Justin closed his second show he did a song called Friends. I thought it was actually one of the most moving concert performances I’d ever seen. “ Francis, come on out here”. A gangly almost spastic dancer writhed around the stage. This beautiful song was His I’d later realize. He definitely has created some special music.
To top it off, I saw him again with Bon Iver at the PEOPLE concert in Berlin later that summer. Sometimes being creative comes with a price. I hope he can keep creating
4
"When he’s not feeling depressed, Starlite has long stretches of happiness and relative stability, usually accompanied by surges in musical productivity." The definition of bipolar disorder. Francis, UCSF Langley-Porter has an outstanding BD clinic -- please call them.
3
@DanW Spot on DanW I say better living through chemistry. There are much higher incidences of suicide among people that are BP and that includes BP2 which he may be (BP2 has no psychotic episodes like BP1).
The dancing and production of the first video clip were well done but I found myself cringing at the lyrics. They came across as a first draft on a napkin versus Justin Vernon, Drake, and Kanye where each listen reveals a new treasure.
1
FFS is new to me. I am oldish. i am stunned by his dancing and voice. his writing. today yesterday this week what lows. now a high. Thank you. please if you read these comments keep dancing! May it bring you joy, happiness and creativity; an ocean of fresh energy to give your gift of witness to your friend jim.
14
One of the most magical and surreal nights I ever spent during my ten years in New York was going to an early Francis & the Lights show in some weird small room off the lobby of a hotel. There was no alcohol allowed, but someone snuck in a giant cooler full of Jell-O shots for all of us. After the incredible small, too-short, intimate sweaty show, we wondered back through the lobby dazed and buzzing. There was a familiar smell in the air. People stopped in their tracks- sniffing. It was nostalgia, kitsch, suburban childhood: cater waiters emerged carrying trays of Pilsbury cinnamon rolls- the pop-open-can kind. A bunch off strangers, aloof hipsters and millennials standing around licking their fingers, disarmed by their own collective sense memories. Only a genius vulnerable human could have conceived of that night.
25
Francis is an artist.
Some may not like him because of difference in music taste but that doesn’t detract from what and who he is— although, it appears he also has psychiatric illnesses.
A lot of artists have baseline depression from young ages. They’re often diagnosed from, on a manic-depressive spectrum all the way to ADHD.
His dilemma is that now when he is approaching forties, doubts about his prior decisions, lack of fame, and lack of the kind of money West/others around him have acquired, have emerged.
That’s materialistic remorse.
Who here hasn’t felt it on arriving in our forties?
But perhaps that kind of fame and money wouldn’t have been good for F.F. Starlight to begin with. Fate has a way of sometimes saving us from ourselves.
The regret of not having been able to do what he wanted... now that is intellectual remorse— and again who here hasn’t felt it?
Francis: such is life.
But you have a unique sound, a distinct approach to music, that’s your very own.
Now that is a fact.
And not many people have that.
26
Thank you for this article and introducing me to him. I am also obsessed now, especially with his dancing. I ended up on YouTube watching more of his work. Wonderful to become immersed in watching such amazing talent and creativity. For almost an hour I didn’t think about the coronavirus or the stock market. His mental health struggles, however, are challenging. I wish him the best.
15
@Shermie Shermie I feel the same way as you do. Your's was the BEST response to this article for sure. I'm worn out from incessantly watching the news and reports of the stock market tumbling (ouch!) but also the Corona Virus and worrying about all the lower income people that will suffer the most, in addition to elderly people that are more susceptible to catching the virus.
1
What is the Times's obsession with the nonentity kanye west? Not a week goes by that he isn't featured in what used to be the best newspaper in the country but nows runs a poor second to the Washington Post. It is inconceivable to me that he and his wife's omnipresent clan can hold any interest for anyone who thinks., Surely there are better things to put in the newspaper than these thoroughly inconsequential tidbits about someone who seems to have failed at everything he's tried. Enough.
7
I rarely come across KW articles here. You’re aversion for him must be exaggerating his presence in NYT.
3
I think both Pawson and Starlite are correct. Insecurity and (defensive) pride are opposite sides of the same coin. Usually it’s a no-win battle, because the solution doesn’t come from what we “do”, but a fundamental security in who we “are”. So, the performance-based self keeps spinning, like an eternal coin flip. Insecurity. Pride. Insecurity. Pride. At the end of the day, peace comes from accepting who I am (“being”), not from what I do. And that is always a relational reality. I can be free with others, even to “fail”, just like all of us. I hope he can find that peace.
5
Just found him because of this article. Now obsessed
21
I never heard of this guy and his singing leaves a lot to be desired but I love his dancing.
I have my own regrets. Some commentators here have been critical of coverage of this artist in the New York Times. The guy most of us have never heard of has been covered in the New York Times. That is a big deal.
I was a great dancer. I didn't take it serious enough. I just took my poems and photographs seriously.
I never played guitar till I made some things with strings.
He's lucky. He's not too old. He's followed his own lights and he's been covered in the NYTs.
Let's hope he doesn't do what would be expected of one who is sort of maybe ill, and withdraw at the worst possible time.
Thanks (I Phone Lifestyle) Scott Day on Amazon
4
Mr. Ugwu, I would suggest you do an in-depth analysis of Auto-tune, pre-recorded drum and guitar loops and samples, and quantizing of drum parts, then get back to us. about how wonderful this fake sounding music is.
It's sad when serious music critics become basically fashion writers, touting the greatness of the Kim Kardashians and Kanye Wests of the world. The only great thing about Starlite is that he was able to afford really great recording equipment at a young age, thanks to the largesse of his wealthy parents. Congrats.
11
@Jack Lemay I agree with you, Mr. Lemay. I had never heard of this man. I became curious and read the article and listened to "The Top". Hmm . . . I heard a) three chords used in an conventional and unoriginal repeating pattern, b) a sung melody that uses some of the notes of a so-called "blues scale" 3) a repeating drum loop that sounds like hundreds of others. True, it has lyrics. But is this a song? And the guy dances around in an unconventional way which some may find interesting. As some of my high school classmates used to say, "Ain't that nuthin'" I am not curious about other clips. "
@Jack Lemay To be fair, Kanye West made a string of incredible albums. I believe that it's willful ignorance to suggest otherwise, and at best is a display of recency bias based on his lackluster output as of late.
That being said, while I do enjoy some of Francis' work, I think it's a bit much for the writer to include Prince and Randy Newman comparisons. Those comparisons are about as far fetched as the somewhat recent comparisons of Vampire Weekend to the Grateful Dead.
2
Computer music used to mean something cool. Nowadays I just associate it with everything that sounds like it was produced in one of these schlocky, 1%er DAW outfits. It's obvious why people lean on folks like this. They have pretty much become competent users of off the shelf software which is hard to do when you have to pass straight up sharts all day like Kanye and other sellouts.
5
I spent the last thirty-five-odd years in the downtown theater/music scene. Starlite's name rings a bell with the same resonance that Julius Eastman's name does -- what? You've never heard of Julius Eastman!! (Not to panic -- he played a different side of the music street and has been dead for some thirty years now.)
Both were creative forces and did some interesting work. No more, no less. This is simply another NYTs click bait story, and Starlite is simply one of a gazillion interesting, evanescent sparks in the downtown scene (which isn't even much downtown these days).
Reggie Ugwu is very, very eager, as well, to become click bait. Hence this puff piece.
4
Just counteracting all the negative downers who have never even listened to you on here - Francis your music is remarkable and please please never stop making it. You have inspired me and so many others with your light! Believe in your light!
21
I'm Francis
6
I saw Francis And The Lights open for Bon Iver in Oakland at the Fox in 2016 and I was lucky enough to walk into the theater as he was playing "The Top", one of my absolute favorite songs, dance sequences, and YouTube videos of all time. This article was wonderful. Thank you!
13
on this dark day, i appreciate this moment of light.
22
One of my all-time favorite artists. Thank you for just a little insight to the mercurial, but transcendent Mr. Starlight.
21
Love the video for The Top. Hard to believe he works with Kanye because I see no similarities at all. Thanks for profiling someone who’s not on the front lines of pop. We all live with a little self doubt.
15
@Mark You should give All We Got by Chance to see Francis’s and West’s work together, if you haven’t yet. The collaboration is incredible.
"When I first heard it, the voice is what got me. It was saturated with yearning yet fantastically suave, heedlessly skidding from ecstasy through agony and back, like a NASCAR racer who’d severed his own brakes. "
There is such a thing as too much detail.
7
Yes- nascar racer and brakes not a good metaphor for a voice
1
@AW everyone’s a critic Especially on the Internet
6
He should give his royalties to Peter Gabriel.
8
I heard Peter Gabriel in some of his music as well
1
Having liived here fore 30 years, it seems odd that I haven't heard of this alleged "King of New York." Hyperbole is commonly employed when there is little to say. That being the case, why this article?
12
Please stop referencing Sebastopol. We like are struggling to keep our slow town off the radar. It’s getting too crowded as it is.
7
@Leslie give us a break nobody is moving to california.
8
what is God's name was this about? another self doubter, bipolar, wannabe pop star, rapper with bipolar disease or maybe depression? turn on the radio if you have one or ask Google and listen to KUTX in Austin and you hear thousands like him. Write a good son, sign with a decent company and try to make before you ARE too old.
7
Sam Smith anyone? Sounds like Smith.
No- Sam Smith has a
melodic beautiful voice- no screeching
1
Francis is, and has been since I first met him four years ago, one of my favorite artists. He is brilliantly creative, remarkably compassionate, and I've observed his delicate and nurturing way with other artists--he brings out the best in people. His shows are charismatic, with the joy and innocence I felt as a child, making you want to lose all control, helping you to understand there is something bigger and better out there. The dark night Francis has endured, is that suffered by many artists, but also many of our greatest contemplatives, leaders and mystics... people whose heart and compassion transform the universe, nurture potential, and show us the possible. I wish this article had gone in substantially greater depth, painting a more nuanced and reflective picture of Francis as a person and artist.
26
Great, charismatic artist, thank you for publishing this.
Not wanting to play armchair psychiatrist, but it sounds a lot like Francis is a fellow ADHD sufferer.
I say this being afflicted by ADHD myself, and experiencing very similar patterns of regret, piecemeal achievement, friends wanting to support but a weird inability to accept help. The list goes on.
ADHD is mostly misdiagnosed, usually as bipolar, anxiety or depression. It is a strange, non-linear, confusing affliction. It alienates you from yourself, yet to the outside it doesn't look like much - because if you can do things in hyperfocused periods of clarity, where your depression is blown away, why can't you always? It is something of a vicious circle.
19
@G Okay to label "it" whatever you like G. Naming psychiatric conditions is comparable to naming the cloud patterns in the sky. Some patterns do predict rain, even possible tornadoes, but life events changes all of us.
Labels can help and hinder.
What matters is the treatment, and not just which, if any, medications which, like labels, can help and hinder (usually both, aka side effects and partial responses).
Never suffer alone.
Never give up believing: "there’s something on the other side, but you don’t know what it is.”"
6
@Joseph WRT BD meds, I'm curious to know what costs you're referring to.
@DanW Not the best forum to expand upon "costs" yet worth a try given some other comments.
You recommend UC San Francisco Langley-Porter's bipolar clinic. Likely a very good place to start, since it relies on residents (physicians in training): " All persons seen in our clinic are primarily managed by psychiatry residents, with close attending supervision."
https://psych.ucsf.edu/bipolar
Note this critical cost, e.g., "However, please be aware that UCSF Health may not be contracted with your specific insurance provider. You will need to give us your insurance information when scheduling your first appointment so we can check your insurance coverage and provide an estimated cost for treatment services."
Side effect "costs" are common, such as weight gain, loss of libido, sedation, tremor, worsening of moods, etc. Yet meds usually work well for a properly evaluated mood disorder with appropriate medical and lab testing, and --if closely followed up-- and alternatives trialed or combined.
I like the doctors who practice "Don't worry about the labels, worry about the pills we ask you to take. And please call back anytime before our next visit with any concerns. I will return your call."
https://psycheducation.org/ is also a great website packed with practical wisdom, on the upside and downside of labels and properly prescribed pills, updated regularly by Dr. Phelps.
Music from Francis always brings light into my day, I hope he finds the success he's looking for.
18
I don't get it at all.....
anyone could have done the music for this with drum machines, synths and MIDI.
and yes he can sing falsetto but this first song is pretty hollow in my opinion.
of course I dont like Kanye either!
PRINCE was a true GENIUS.
13
@East Coast
Suggest you try to do a hundredth as well as this multi-talented artist. Talk about not knowing how hard artists have to work on their gifts to bring them into the world. That is not only singing falsetto ... listen for the harmonics, the tempo, the melody, the blend and modulation. Could you move like that with grace and ease? I doubt it. And the eye just moves to take Francis' dancing in. That's a lifetime full of particular dancing we're watching. What a narrow view of creativity expressed in East's post.
Just when we needed Reggie's article with its videos to help us through this time, his writing and Francis' gifts arrive.
22
@East Coast
I'm not sure if Francis is as talented as Prince but he surely needs to get his facts about Prince straight. He says in the Rick Rubin doc on Showtime that every song on the 1999 album has a car reference or metaphor. And that is not correct.
3
@East Coast
"anyone could do it..." the weakest most childish nonsense possible. Did you do it? Why not?
8
OMG! I'm too old to have known this artist's work, sadly, but he is/was amazing. That video is incredible.
39
@Daily Reader That is exactly how I felt!
8
“It’ll be better” is such an overlooked gem of a record.
12
Was glad to learn of a performer I had never heard of before, and really enjoy his music. As far as the interview is concerned I found it highly disappointing. The writer spent 12 hours with this man, and this bland, watery piece of writing is the result? It would have been next to useless if it were not for the few videos tucked in here and there. I wanted to read more about Francis' collaborations and music writing. To be frank, I could care less if he was bipolar, depressed, or just confused. Not important in the end. What's important is what his creativity gives birth to.
12
'Now he was recalculating, and considering what he might gain by relinquishing control"
Collabs can be a way to experiment with new sounds and styles, then allowing one to circle back to their core spirit giving start to new flowers.
7
I had never heard of this man but I felt he was speaking my experience verbatim, as well as where I am currently as an artist —the dark space. You’re not alone! Don’t lose hope. And thank you for sharing your vulnerability, it’s resonated with me deeply.
24
I've been missing Francis and his music for a while now. I saw him perform in Oakland maybe 10 years ago and it was like a beautiful dream I'll always return to on the edge of consciousness. A strange angel, a phenom, this piece does a great job of making him known to the reader and also leaving questions about him and his future.
38
What an exquisite and creative dancer Francis is with his exotic, mesmerizing voice. Like being pulled in by a silken thread. So much talent. I send encouragement and look forward to songs and videos and performances that are beginning now.
30
Been listening to Francis since discovering "For Days" in 2010 and being blown away. From all of us comparatively less-successful musicians who also deal with the mental struggles, self-doubts, and the feeling that it's "too late" for us: keep going, buddy. We need the music.
44
I saw him at the Electric Forest festival a couple of years ago. He leapt into the audience and we all danced together joyously. One of the highlights of the whole weekend for me. You feel guilty sometimes that the artists who give you so much happiness are often so tortured.
46
haha I was there as well!! I actually ran into him walking around the forest/through the observatory later that day
5
Clearly when he is inspired to create, he creates great things; but at what price to his wellbeing?
10
Can’t get past K West
2