Francis & The Lights: Who is the mysterious Francis Farewell Starlite?
Who is the mysterious Francis Farewell Starlite?
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘴 & 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 seems to occupy an incredibly unique space in modern music; you’re either familiar with and a great admirer of the ‘project’/band’s brilliance, or you’ve simply never heard of Francis and whatever his lights are. The reason for this distinction is largely accredited to his impressive catalogue of music, or lack thereof in quantity. Since releasing his debut EP ‘𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨’ in 2007, Francis gained viral acclaim but opted to turn down many record deals, favouring a solo route that would enable him full artistic jurisdiction.
Francis Farewell Starlite (born Abe Katz-Milder before a 2004 name change) is the leader & mastermind behind the project Francis & The Lights. Francis was a talented pianist as a young man and attended the prestigious Connecticut art school Wesleyan University. (He shared classes with the Indi-pop duo MGMT who were in the same year). In 2002 Starlite would drop out and tour America on a train to find his passion, ultimately choosing music. Eventually his signature layered vocal production would influence Drake, who he would produce the song 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘬𝘦 for on 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 and tour with in 2010. This would open the door for Hip-Hop’s best to adapt Francis’ original sound, going on to collaborate with Kanye West on “𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴” and “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶”, as well as Chance the Rapper on 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. Since exposing his craft to the mainstream, the enigmatic Francis Starlite turned down offers from OVO & G.O.O.D Music, a feat he admitted to the NYT he somewhat regrets now.
Francis has remained the same inscrutable popstar for the last decade we’ve known him. He rarely take interviews, & when he does he is very carefully spoken, often avoiding or skipping questions altogether. What is certain though, is that Francis & The Lights are back in 2020 featuring on ‘𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘐𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶’ by Kacy Hill, a track that boasts his signature flare.
