Adam French: Life vs. Existence

I’ve always been both fascinated by and terrified of death. I think fear and obsession have made me appreciate my time here a little more, whilst questioning the purpose of it every day. A lot of my music’s about my take on reality. My past experiences and opinions play a heavy role in my songwriting and in general, I’m influenced by the people I love and driven by the people I hate. Euthanasia is a topic I find myself revisiting every now and again, so it seemed fitting to finally put pen to paper.

Like many, I’ve had family members pass whilst fighting Alzheimer’s and Cancer, but this isn’t a sob story. I just think that if I were ever in a position where I felt like a burden to those around me, or that life wasn’t ‘living’ anymore, I’d like to call it a day… be remembered as the happy-go-lucky life-lover that in my heart I always have been, whether my mind and body were able to keep up or not. I recently played a show in Switzerland, which for obvious reasons brought the conversation up again on the plane home and I wrote "Euthanasia" shortly after the trip.

Despite my views on euthanasia, it’s important that we make the most of every moment given to us and treat life as a gift, rather than an entitlement. Time is a cruel beast and you’ll only ever regret leading a miserable life if there was something you could have done about it.

Figuring out the difference between life and existence has always been a massive contributor to the way I write music, and will carry on being just that. My favourite lyrics are honest and personal. I don’t think it’s right for people to preach about things that they don’t understand, or haven’t been exposed to. Life has its ups and downs and I draw from the things that make me feel something, positive or negative.

I’m not interested in music without meaning; as far as I’m concerned the whole point is to allow somebody else to step into your world for a moment; to feel what you feel; to fear what you fear and to see what you see. That’s what makes a record beautiful - honesty from somebody else’s perspective and viewpoint. Often, my favourite artist’s pains were my pains and their troubles my troubles. Knowing that somebody else is dealing with their own shit is therapeutic and it always will be. Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black for me lyrically is the most stunning body of work from the past couple of decades. That was somebody speaking from the heart and meaning every word. She was living her story and not just inventing one. I think navigating your way through life and being open and honest about it is what music’s all about.

I never really understood the mentality of following hype trends when it came to my own music. My sole ambition is to leave my mark on the world, and that’s what made me want to do this. As a kid I’d visit museums and art exhibitions and see paintings from hundreds of years ago and think to myself, I want to leave something behind. I remember first seeing Vincent van Gogh’s Chair and Sunflowers and asking my Dad how old the person who painted them was, to which he replied "he’s dead" - that’s when I realised that art could live longer than people. It’s the same with music, I still regularly listen to Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, and Nirvana: Those lyrics have become a window into the lives of the people that wrote them. I like to think of the records you release as being one big scrapbook of thoughts and commentaries that you collate over time. By looking through it people can walk your path and get to know you and the life you’ve led.

I’d love to think that I could leave something behind for people to discover in many years to come… That maybe they’d get something from hearing my story that could help them with theirs, but we’ll see.

"Euthanasia" is the first release taken from French’s upcoming EP, Face to Face, due out mid-April. There is also a full UK tour planned as part of the New Faces tour, alongside some US dates.

March

31 - LA, The Hotel Café [Tickets]

April

5 - New York, Rockwood Music Hall [Tickets]
23 - Liverpool, The Loft Arts Club
24 - Manchester, Ruby Lounge
25 - Birmingham, The Rainbow
27 - London, St Stephen’s Church
28 - Oxford, The Bullingdon
29 - Brighton, Green Door Store
30 - Bristol, Louisiana