Three years after the world was introduced to AlunaGeorge on their debut album “Body Music,” the British duo has completely embraced its genre-defying sound.
In an industry of marketable categories, the pair, which features the vocal stylings of Aluna Francis coupled with George Reid’s production and instrumentation, is very aware that their vibe doesn’t fit into a neatly packaged box. The duo’s sound, anchored by Reid’s beats and lifted with Francis’ feathery voice, treads the line between alternative-R&B, synth-driven dancehall and poppy EDM.
“No one’s ever really come up with a description [for us]. They’ve tried. You can sort of come up with one. It doesn’t really stick,” Francis told The Huffington Post on a sweltering July day in New York City.
Instead of striving to fit the mold, AlunaGeorge continues to carve a lane for themselves with their sophomore album “I Remember,” which dropped Friday and spawned a 12-room art installation that fans can experience via IHeartComix’s livestream on Tuesday.
While the album is filled with dance-inducing jams ― like “I’m In Control,” which features Popcaan ― it also tackles some serious social issues. On the surface, their single “Mean What I Mean” appears to be yet another exuberant pop track, but beneath the production lies meaningful lyrics with a powerful message.
Francis drew inspiration for the song, which unpacks the meaning of consent, from a personal experience where she found herself resisting a suitor and reiterating that “no” truly means “no.” Interestingly, about three weeks after she wrote the song, Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” hit the airwaves to mixed reactions about the way its lyrics handled the issue of consent.
“I was so glad I’d already written [’Mean What I Mean’] because it was very, very evident that there needed to be a very simple explanation for what we mean, which is just we mean what we say,” Francis said. “I was like, ‘See! I’m not the only one that is being challenged about what I do and I don’t mean.’”
Since finding their niche with successful collaborations like Disclosure’s “White Noise” and DJ Snake’s “You Know You Like It” remix, which brought the duo unprecedented visibility in the United States, AlunaGeorge seems to have become more comfortable with exploring hot-button issues through songwriting.
“Obviously you have to be conscious of what kind of lives people are living these days, so I’m aware of weaving that into my work,” Francis said. But she acknowledged that there’s a big difference between a political statement and a piece of music. Instead of offering overt political analysis, Francis wants her music to connect with listeners on a more personal level.
“I think that where songs really help is getting inside somebody where other people can’t support them. And that’s really my area of expertise,” she said.
But Francis knows creating a “holy grail, statement song” isn’t easy.
“I do think that is an art form that is very, very hard to achieve and I wouldn’t want to do a half-assed attempt,” she said. “I think the nearest I’ve got to it is ‘My Blood’ and ‘Mean What I Mean,’ where there’s definitely my feelings woven in there, but as the fabric of the song and the lyrics, not as a preaching sort of statement.”
While Francis is clearly not the “preaching” type, there are a few issues that seem to hit home for the artist. Following the police-related deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in July, she stopped by a Black Lives Matter event in Los Angeles and was floored by the outpouring of support.
“It was just a simple sharing of just small stories that people were able to share in front of a huge audience, which was amazing,” she said. “And on that particular day, it was just a comfort to be together with people who were thinking about it.”
She applauded the organization for its proactive take on racial issues and its ability to provide a forum for honest and open dialogue.
“It’s become very versatile and it’s just a really great tool for anyone who feels like they want to contribute to ending racism,” she said.
Francis’ willingness to take a stab at tougher issues on “I Remember” is just one example of how AlunaGeorge has evolved over the last few years. The album is a culmination of the duo’s growth as artists, she said.
“There’s just no way we could have ever followed ‘Body Music’ with another ‘Body Music,’” Francis said, referencing their acclaimed 2013 release.
With the release of their sophomore album, Francis said she and Reid can finally call themselves “career musicians.”
“We’ll always spend our time developing songwriting skills, developing production skills, doing vocal coaching, doing all kinds of different [things] to improve my training so the album is a reflection of that,” she said.
AlunaGeorge’s latest album “I Remember” is out now.
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