Frances Dickinson (musician)

Frances Dickinson is a New Zealand-based musician and vocal coach. She is the former vocalist of alt-folk band Forbidden Joe[1] and is a vocal coach for New Zealand recording artists such as Lorde.[2]

Forbidden Joe

Dickinson was the lead singer and songwriter in the alt-folk band Forbidden Joe. The trio formed in 2008 after they met at the Devonport Folk Club (Auckland)[3] and went on to record an EP entitled Oh, what a queer sensation later that year. The EP was described as being "very contemporary and yet at the same time having everything that you'd want from a really traditional folk view" whilst demonstrating "really good vocals (and) some really good songwriting" by Manu Taylor on National Radio's Nine till Noon music review.[4]

Music reviewer Graham Reid discussed Dickinson's songwriting in a review of the EP where he remarked that " as a writer, just on this one showing, she seems to be a rare one". Aside from one co-write with Arthur Baysting on the full album, she did not write any more songs with Forbidden Joe.[5][6]

Forbidden Joe produced their only full-length album In Mourning for the Pride of Petravore in 2010, which was part funded by Creative New Zealand.[1] The trio separated in 2011 and their album was a finalist for the Vodafone New Zealand Music Award for Best Folk Album in the same year.[7]

Vocal coaching

Dickinson is a vocal coach for Establish Music[8] and has worked with a number of New Zealand artists. In 2013 Dickinson worked with Ruby Frost while she was a judge on New Zealand's X Factor show.[9] She has also coached NZ Silver Scroll winner Lips, Six60 and actress Robyn Malcolm.[10]

Work with Lorde

Dickinson was hired in 2011 by Universal Music to coach Ella Yellich-OConnor (who would later adopt the stage name Lorde) twice a week while she was signed to their label on a development deal.[2] They worked together for over a year; Lorde described working with Dickinson in an interview for Rolling Stone Magazine:

"One of the coolest things was that I could have vocal lessons twice a week," she recalls. "I've always had a low voice, but you can find a couple of shitty covers on YouTube from when I was 12 or whatever, and my voice is quite nasal. Strange tonally. I got to strip all that stuff back and kind of rebuild the machinery, take a lot of twang out of my sound.".[11]

Soon after her work with Dickinson, Lorde recorded her EP and full-length album. She won the award for Best Pop Solo Performance for her vocal performance on her song "Royals" at the 2014 Grammys.[12]

References
  1. Creative New Zealand. "Funded Artists Showcase". Government of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. FasterLouder. "Lorde-Pop's new ruler". Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. NZ Musician Magazine. "Fresh Talent: Forbidden Joe". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  4. Radio New Zealand. "Nine to Noon: Music Review with Manu Taylor". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  5. Reid, Graham. "Oh! what a queer sensation". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  6. Reid, Graham. "Forbidden Joe: In Mourning for the Pride of Petravore". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  7. "Best Folk Album Finalists Announced". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  8. "Establish Music - vocal coaching". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  9. TV3. "Meet the judges - interview with Ruby Frost". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  10. "Establish Music - What our clients say". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  11. "Lorde's Teenage Dream". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  12. "56th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees". Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
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