Franny and Zooey My Love Interview

My Love Is the Dialogue of A Couple Trying to Communicate

Franny and Zooey are a sister duo from Melbourne. As new artists, they are in a formative state of exploration and self-discovery - finding their own voice both stylistically and as a means of expression. Their music is diverse in sound and focuses on using voice and piano to create interwoven harmonies and strong melodies. My Love is the first single from the duo.

My Love tells the story of a relationship that has over time fragmented and broken, now resembling something that is unknown to the couple. Life takes over and the simpler joys of a relationship, once treasured, are forgotten. My Love is the dialogue of a couple trying to communicate, to generate a discussion, but finding each has taken the other for granted, and what they once had is now lost. It's about losing yourself and your partner, and finding, in the end, that you don't recognise yourself or the relationship you have created together. The track was recorded by Daniel Morassutti at SAE Studios and produced by Jared Brentnall with additional sound engineering from Andrew Kerridge.

Music has been an integral part of Franny and Zooey's lives from a young age, where they were exposed to both classical and popular music and studied piano, cello, violin and voice. The girls grew up composing music and writing songs, presenting them in the comfort of their lounge and at school concerts. After finishing school and starting university, Franny and Zooey found themselves with no time to devote to their music. After studying for a year they both decided to take break and join forces in order to pursue their musical ambitions! The name of the duo comes from the title of a book by JD Salinger, and were the nicknames given to them at school by their English teacher.

When Franny and Zooey put their dreams aside to study at university, they realised they lost an essential part of who they are. Their goal in life is to create music that gives people the joy and meaning it gives to both of them.

Interview with Franny and Zooey

Question: How would you describe your music?

Franny and Zooey: We focus a lot on creating powerful lyrics and combining these with melody and harmony lines to make our songs come to life. We love being able to speak to the audience through our songs by sharing our own experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It is hard to sum up our musical style, as we are still finding this out ourselves! We can say that our music is very lyric and melody driven. We both have a classical background in piano, so all our songs at this stage begin simply with a piano, some chocolate on the side and a good old laugh!


Question: What inspired the song, My Love?

Franny and Zooey: Funnily enough, we are both are in great relationships! That being said, everyone knows relationships can be challenging at times. My Love depicts a relationship that has fragmented and broken overtime due to a breakdown of communication. This is a terrifying concept for us and the song was a way to express this fear of what can happen to a relationship that is taken for granted.


Question: What is the most challenging thing about working with your sister?

Franny and Zooey: Like with any partnership there are times we find each other intolerable but we work super well together. Because we are so close, we find it easy to express ourselves without fear of judgment and we can also be brutally honest with one another. A definite challenge is trying to get through a rehearsal without it ending in fits of laughter - Francesca has this habit of breaking into opera at the strangest of times which leaves Giselle either covering her ears or in hysterics (or both!).

Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Franny and Zooey: We have only ever performed originals at this stage, but hope to include a cover or two in the future. Some of our favourite originals to perform are Falling Skies, Don't, Because You Loved Her, and Unravel Her.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend one of your shows, who would it be?

Franny and Zooey: Jennifer Lawrence! Man, we just want to be her bestie! She's just so cool and down to earth (at least from what we can tell without actually having met her). She'd be so welcome to hit up one of our gigs! And, Emma Watson can come too, if she likes… What amazing and inspiring woman!


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Franny and Zooey: It's hard to say, they are both so different from each other! Recording is an incredibly fun and rewarding process (it can also be very time consuming and tedious) but the finished product usually makes it worth all the hard work. Performing on the other hand is all about being in the moment, connecting with your audience, and having a good time. There is nothing like the post-performance buzz that's for sure!


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Franny and Zooey: Inspiration for our songs comes from everywhere and anywhere. It could be the opening shot of a TV show, a sentence in a book, or maybe some emotion that we are feeling at the time. Once we have found the inspiration it is easy to channel this into a song. This process in itself motivates us to continue writing music. It's exiting seeing a simple idea or image taking form and coming to life in a song.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?
Franny and Zooey: Amy Shark, Odette, Flight Facilities, Delta Goodrem, Adele, Florence and the Machine and The Greatest Showman soundtrack!


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Franny and Zooey: Music has always played a huge part in our lives; having each other's support helps inspire us to keep working and stay motivated. We both get so much out of the music we create together.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Franny and Zooey: There are a few artists that are absolute standouts for the both of us. Kate Miller-Heidke, Florence and the Machine, Delta Goodrem, and Missy Higgens. What legends! They are all such inspiring artists with a really unique sound; they use such clever lyrics and speak a truth we can all relate to. It would be amazing to perform or song-write with any of these artists!


Interview by Brooke Hunter