Frances Dickinson

Ten Questions for Frances Dickinson

Pictured is Helene Piper, Devonport community choir leader.

Ahhh the sweet sounds of enthusiastic and joyful song. Not professional singers, no, something better perhaps; the sound of communal voices melodically intertwined. Chances are, if you’re in Devonport the sweet refrain floating into your ears, uplifting your spirits and kindling your appreciation of simple joys, comes from the Devonport Community Choir, of whom MORPH’s latest Ten Question-ee is the ringleader. Presenting the beautiful, the passionate, the musical maestro herself; Frances Dickinson.

What prompted you to start the Devonport Community Choir?

A conversation with a friend. We are both Devonport girls and into music so have a fair bit of connection with the musical community here. Independently we both had the thought: “wouldn't it be cool if...” for different reasons so when we hit upon the subject, we started to scheme straight away; before we knew it we were applying for Creative Communities funding and the project was on a roll.

Have you always sung? How did you come to love singing/music making?

I've always been into music, ever since I was little. I mostly learned things by ear but managed to persevere with violin, to a pretty high standard and then took classical singing lessons till I was about 18, which I loved. I was always in heaps of bands at school but never thought I could do it as a career and was certainly never encouraged to, although I was lucky enough to have access to a lot of instruments; instruments donated to me through friends, and those we already had at home, so I would just amuse myself playing whatever was at hand and writing stuff. I didn't really think about choosing music for a career until about five years ago after quitting my 'proper' job. I’ve done a couple of courses and built myself up as a self-employed musician and now get to split my time between being a songwriter, performer and vocal coach.

In terms of your accomplishments, which do you consider to be most significant?

Being short listed for a Vodafone Music Award was quite cool :)

How would you describe your practice? Is it a profession, a passion, a calling?

It's a bit of all of these. I think all musicians need to be highly driven to persevere through the challenges of being self-employed and working in such a changeable industry. So yeah, the profession bit does not come so easy, especially when you know there are much easier ways to make money. But, I would still be doing this even if I wasn't making any money from it, so I guess you could class it as a calling, a passion and for now, a profession.

What are the resources, and who is it that keeps you supported?

That's a good question actually. I guess for the last year or so I have been working independently so I have been predominantly in charge of creating my own support. I find my songwriting process to be quite internal so I don't often reach out for help with that, though I do have some really good friends and contacts in the music industry whom I can turn to for advice when needed, which is great. I think everyone I know who works as a musician understands how hard it can be to choose this path and so I find everyone really generous and genuine when it comes to asking for guidance.

How do you find the music scene in NZ, what are its strengths and weaknesses?

It’s certainly unique and really different from the more mainstream markets of the US, UK and AUS. In some ways this is a strength because the quality of music here is strong, diverse and interesting. But I think the fact that NZ has such a unique sound and style makes the market here limited in regards to producing music that is successful commercially. NZ is also very small so building a big enough fan base to help support your projects can be a challenge.

What is your vision for your career?

Well, since my last project split I have been spending my time writing and developing my solo sound. It's taken me a couple of years so far to develop, but now I am super excited about where everything is at, so the next step is to start demo-ing and planning some live shows under this new musical identity.

Tell us about your favorite musician?

I don't have one. It's impossible to nail down 'the' one. But I can say that the people I'm enjoying listening to at the moment are Kimbra for her originality and soul, Goyte 'cause I love his voice, James Blake, and the demos of Devonport artist Ella Yellich O Connor.

What inspires you?

My desire to be better than I am is my main motivator. I always find myself trying to improve what I am doing, or to supersede where I am at. Life and my love for fantasy would also feature on the list. I process most of my thoughts and feelings through my songwriting so whatever is happening to me often makes an appearance at the start of my process. Then creativity and storytelling take over until the idea evolves its own identity and the truth gets left behind. It's a bit like a make believe world where I can explore ideas and scenarios without having to pay for therapy :)

Nature would be the last inspiration, but definitely not the least.

If there were no obstacles of any kind, financial, relational, practical etc what would you do/begin to do tomorrow?

Warming up for a sell-out world tour to release my next album:)