FEMME is a one-woman indie-pop wrecking-machine who we've been championing at Driftwood since last year when she made her North American debut in LA. Brimming with confidence and disarmingly charming, FEMME packs quite the combination of infectious tunes, ambition, and style. As the acclaim and buzz around her continues to grow, we caught up with FEMME to discuss her current tour, the importance of creative control, and what we can expect next...
DW: You're currently on a US tour with Charli XCX and Elliphant. How's it going so far? Any particular highlights?
FEMME: The shows have been incredible. The audiences have been so supportive and LOUD. Every night has been a real rush. Last night's show in Dallas was one of my favourites, New York was also great fun as I had the two Bullet Girls there with me and there was balloons and confetti canons. Very good.
DW: Can you describe what FEMME is to those who are just getting on board or aren't familiar yet?
FEMME: FEMME is me. I'm a solo artist who writes, produces and performs my music. It's sassy. Fun. Strong. It's all about girls, beats and bass. Forward looking production with 60s influenced harmony and melody.
DW: From writing music, producing, creating music videos, style and fashion…you do it all. How important is it to you to be involved in all the creative aspects of your work?
FEMME: It's imperative that I direct all these things. As an emerging artist it's been really important for my fans to know exactly who I am and how I'm operating from the very beginning. I think people can tell when there's a lot of people behind the scenes, styling and producing other artists as a sense of authenticity gets lost. For me, knowing I'm making all the creative decisions and executing everything just the way I envisage it and living it means I can sleep at night. Very soundly. I hope to get to a point where my productions and budgets get bigger and I can involve more people in helping me realise bigger more ambitious videos/live shows/recording sessions but I will always be at the helm. It's what i enjoy doing otherwise what's the point? If i'd wanted to be just a singer I could've jumped on a cruise ship by now and probably be making more money and have a great sun tan.
DW: With a handful of singles so far FEMME is only just beginning to take off, yet you've already won numerous global awards this year including the International Emerging Talent Award at the MUSEXPO Awards in LA and the Rising Star Award at the London Music Awards. How does that feel? It must feel like validation for all of your hard work so far - that you're doing something right.
FEMME: Yes that's exactly what it is. A big pat on the back from the industry that they can see me, they know how hard we're working and I think they appreciate how much momentum we have gained as a completely independent operation in a constantly changing and very challenging music industry climate today. I'm an unsigned artist with two awards under my belt and currently on a US tour supporting one of America's leading ladies in pop. I have to pinch myself when I see it written down like that. We might be living on bread and water and travelling in a dodgy RV but somehow we're managing to pull this shit off.
DW: Although this is your first extensive US tour as FEMME, Los Angeles has been lucky to have you play 5 shows here (including 2 Coachella shows) with the buzz and crowds growing bigger each time. What are you looking forward to when the tour hits LA at the Mayan on Oct 24?
FEMME: I can't wait to be there! I think it's one of the biggest venues of the tour and so far so many of the dates are sold out I wouldn't be surprised if LA does too by the time we get there. Elliphant and Charli have been a dream to work with. It's a big girl power night out and we all put on a show. It's great to be on the road with so much personality - strong, female i don't give a shit attitude. I'll be sad when we play our last show in San Fran on 25th.
DW: What are your favorite things about being in the US?
FEMME: The Goodwill stores! I can lose hours in those places. And I've been visiting so many places i've never been which is very exciting. I had a great time in Texas, and Florida. The crowds there were wild.
DW: Before FEMME, you were fronting Ultraísta with Nigel Godrich and Joey Waronker. What did you learn from that experience? Has that experience helped you with FEMME?
FEMME: I learned so much from the guys, they have so many years of experience under their belts and so many amazing records they've made, plus they're two very nice blokes. I learned so much about the visual aesthetic of a project from Ultraista, Nigel especially. We just gave everything a go. Do we need press pictures? We'll take them ourselves. Shall we make a video? Why the fuck not. There is a freedom to it which was infectious and undoubtedly gave me the confidence to approach my solo material this way. Give it a go. See what happens. If it doesn't work out we'll get the professionals in. But...it always works out.
DW: Between the Last Skeptik (FEMME's live DJ and beat master) and the Bullet Girls (FEMME's back-up dancers and girl gang), who parties harder?
FEMME: Bullet Girls, every time without a doubt. Those girls go IN. This tour we actually had to impose a curfew of 2 AM on a 'school night' (ie show the next day) otherwise they'd still be up before soundcheck the next day.
DW: What's next for FEMME? When can we expect the debut album?
FEMME: Debut album is ear marked for spring 2015. When i get back to the UK after this tour I will be finishing off some more music and collaborations, I will need to start putting ideas together for videos for the album and we'll get cracking on a release plan for how we are going to get it out. I can't wait to share it with everyone.
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