The Early Spring

It spent much time between the interview and the previous one, but only few singers with glasses this year.

The new interview is with a singer-songwriter called "The Early Spring". She's the first Belgium singer interviewed on this blog. I like her voice and I share her videos often on my pages. She's often classified in my playlists "favorite singers of the year".

Her first E.P. "Meeting With A Guitar" is available: http://theearlyspring.bigcartel.com

Listen to the video shared on the bottom of this page and take a few minutes to listen to her music and subscribe to her channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEarlySpring


Thank you so much for accepting the interview.

Of course, I’m pleased you reached out to me.


Can you tell us a little bit about you, Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I grew up in a small town in the province of Liège. I studied in Liège and then I started travelling. I studied in Berlin for a while, then found a job in Belgium and went to Munich one year later to start a career in the pharmaceutical area. I am now back in Belgium in the province of Limburg.


What were your dreams of future when you were a kid?

There were a few… I wanted to be a great singer and travel the world to play gigs every night and meet new people every day. I also wanted to save animal lives and have a big shelter to rescue and take care of them. At the age of 6, I started wearing my boots to go on the field behind my house, and I would go wash the cows with my bucket full of water… Then when I grew up, I started dreaming about learning all those different languages and being able to find a job where I could use all of them.


Your name is Aurore F., why have you choose the name "The Early Spring"?

I was in a rock band before and when the band split, and I had some time to think about what I wanted to do, I didn’t want to keep my real name. First of all, because I wanted to keep some distance between the person and my music. Then, I also thought that no one who’s not speaking French would be able to pronounce my name correctly (which I don’t mind, I think it’s quite funny) but I thought I might as well find something easier and that’s when I came up with the idea of The Early Spring. I didn’t want to use a fake name, and I liked this concept of a "theme" representing my music. So I browsed a little bit to get some inspiration and when I saw this one word (which I don’t even recall) I had this name popping in my head and it made perfect sense to me.


You had the idea of working with other musician(s) for this project?

To be honest, after being in a band for a few years, I loved the idea of being completely free to do what I love, what I want without having to compromise. It is also easier because the way I write my music, I need to get in a “bubble” and everything needs to come together smoothly within the time I am in this bubble. If later on, I have to pick up the song unfinished (I mean if the structure of the song and the lyrics are not done), It is really unlikely that I will give a life to the song. But, with that said, I do miss the energy of being on stage with a team, and to be able to give my music more dimension…Because what I can do, when I’m at home, recording many different tracks, adding vocals and instruments, I can’t do on my own during a gig.


Your first video was posted 7 years ago. Can you remember the first time you decided you wanted to be a singer?

Hahaha…yes…it is almost embarrassing. I was 5, and I was singing the Little Mermaid in my bathtub. Mom was in the bathroom too and I had this fork in my hand, trying to brush my hair like Arielle and after humming “haaaaaa, haaaaa….” for a while, I said to mom something like: I know who I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a singer mermaid. And I never stopped singing after that… I eventually dropped the mermaid part though… but music has been my passion ever since.


Are your family members are musicians?

One of my brothers played a lot piano when I was a kid. My siblings are 12-13 years older than me and so they would come back from university on weekends and when I was really small, I remember that the basement was magical to me. That’s where the piano was stored. And when my brother was playing, I always had those small butterflies and I would go downstairs and sit next to him… I’m sure that helped me getting so much in touch with music at a young age. My dad was a singer when he was a kid but unfortunately, there are no videos or recordings...


How many instruments do you play and why?

My best instrument is my voice. I love using it and try to sing lower and higher, etc… Then I play guitar, I learned by myself. I play a little bit of piano but I also learned alone and it is not easy. And then I like to play around with everything really. I have a ukulele at home, as well as some drums and instruments for kids, harmonica, Glockenspiel, … I just use my ears and try to trust what I think sounds good.


What was the first tune(s) you learned?

Wow that is a difficult one… I’m trying to remember… I would say Little Mermaid if we go all the way back. But with my guitar, I think it would be "Message from your Heart" from Kina Grannis.


What are the different types of music that you sing?

I really sing everything just because I love learning new ways of singing, I love exploring other styles too and I like the challenge. I would not sing heavy metal though, that is just not my thing… But the music I write and sing, I guess it is more folk acoustic if you have to give it a name.


You have recorded many covers that you have perfectly adapted to your sweet voice (Sound of Silence, Giving Up, Stay....), how do you choose them?

Thank you :) I actually just cover the songs that touch me in a way or another. If I find a track so pretty that I can’t stop humming it, then I’m sure I need to cover it. It’s a feeling thing. I also like having requests so I have the opportunity to sing something that I would probably not sing otherwise.


Can you explain your process of writing and composing your songs? Music or lyrics first?

Sure. Like I said, I need to get into a bubble. I can’t just decide to sit there for some time and force myself to come up with something. I did it, and I think that once or twice I came up with something, but the best case scenario would be that once I get this inspiration and idea in my head, I would have a guitar at hand, and I would just lose myself in the creation of the song. It usually takes less than an hour and everything is slowly building together (lyrics and music) as I go on.


Do you plan to record an album or to write more songs?

That would be my dream. I was playing gigs and I was writing a lot but then I moved to Munich, and for some reasons, I lost touch with my guitar and I couldn’t write anymore. But I’ve been back in Belgium for a year now and I started writing music again and my inspiration and motivation came back so I plan on working hard and maybe record something soon...


What do you think of this blog and have you discovered some singers?

I really like it and I think it is a nice platform to give artists a chance to get to know each other. I am actually planning on listening to every artist that gave you an interview!


Do you have a favorite musician among those I regularly share?

I don’t know yet, as I was not aware of this blog of yours, but I will make sure to tell you once I listened to this playlist I made :)


You remove your glasses for the majority of your videos, is my page could make you change your mind?

Haha, it might :)


What kind of music do you listen to today?

Right now, I am actually listening to this playlist on Spotify called “Cuban Roots Playlist”. I’m in the need of sun and vacation vibe, and I really enjoy Cuban music. (When I told you, I listen to a LOT of different kinds…). In general, within one day, I could go from folk, to electronic, and stop for some reggae or rock or pop or even classical music...


Which famous musicians do you admire and why?

I have to say, without a doubt, Kina Grannis because she is the one who inspired me to take my guitar on my own and not being afraid to be myself and write and sing what I love and not what people expect me to sing. She has a great heart and sense of integrity and that shows in her music and in the way she treats other people and I admire that.


Can we know your favorite song?

Favorite song…it changes all the time… If I have to think of one right now, one that will stay forever is “Yellow Eyes” from Rayland Baxter.


What are your hobbies apart from the music?

I love cooking, travelling, hanging out with my friends and family, hiking, reading, working out, watching sport games, playing video games, gardening, meeting new people, talking different languages,...


What hidden talents do you have?

I guess I can cook ok? :)


Do you have a web site to publicize your music? Can you give us the main links?

I unfortunately don’t have a website for The Early Spring. You can find me on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube (always with ‘TheEarlySpring’ and there is bigcartel.com where I used to sell my EP “Meeting with a guitar” but I need to follow up with this last one...


Do you have plans for 2016 (concert, EP,....)?

Yes!! I am working hard on getting my tracks back together and I am hoping to start getting pro-active with gigs really soon. There are some emails and things getting planned so fingers crossed! A new EP… is also on the agenda :)