Savoir Faire on the long road to pressing a record that had something real to say
Savoir Faire is an artist that takes her time, and for good reason. Her debut album, Hopeless Nostalgic, is carefully crafted with influences of Persian guitar, Lynchain atmospheres, and unapologetic femme rage. We sat down with Boston based musician to talk about her process, the songs she was scared to write, and why she still believes old souls can want new things.
HV: You recently pressed a record with us, a really great one might I add! When and how did the songwriting process start for you? I know it can take a really long time between the songwriting, and the actually pressing.
SF: It feels like it took FOREVER, honestly. I started writing the songs a bit before the pandemic, started recording it a bit after...there were a lot of other things happening in my life at the moment, so it felt very stop and go in some ways! I will also be honest that I take a while to write songs. It's usually a process of having topics that I want to talk about, getting a lick or riff stuck in my head, eventually writing some lyrics that will find its match with a riff or lick, and then building the song around that. What was different in the process of the record, compared to when I would write music pre-Covid, was that I didn't develop drafts of songs through open mics or live shows like I used to. Instead, I recorded little demos at home, sent them to Dave (Brophy) to produce the ideas, and then we went back and forth a bit on forming the layers and direction of the song. That was really nice, because it definitely helped me get out of my head a bit!
HV: The production on the album is so cool - did you know exactly what you wanted or were you figuring stuff out in the studio?
SF: A little bit of both! There were definitely songs that I brought to Dave and had references that I wanted to evoke: things like scenes from Twin Peaks, Fiona Apple albums, and films like Blade Runner and James Bond movies.
HV: Do you have a favorite song on the album?
SF: Hmm. I think Machine With A Dream. I feel so strongly about a lot of the things that I wrote songs about, and that song is about a woman's right to choose. I was hesitant to write it at first, because it's coming from a place of being a woman who does not want children, and asserting that I am still a full woman despite that. I was worried that it would come off as offensive to people who are mothers- and amazing mothers, but I was so happy to find that women of all paths resonated with the song. I also feel like we did a good job of merging my Persian influences with my Lynchian influences on that one, plus I get to play a lot of guitar solos and riffs on it- and use that gritty distortion pedal!
HV: When did you start playing guitar and what inspired you to start?
SF: I started playing when I was 12! I wanted to play because Jewel's music was really resonating with me at the time, and she played guitar. I wanted to play guitar like her.
HV: Are there any artists that inspired this album?
SF: Definitely Fiona Apple. Tori Amos, Ella Fitzgerald, and Portishead. A bit of Muse.
HV: Where can readers find you online?
SF: www.SavoirFaireMusic.com will link to all of the places: Bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Youtube...I guess that's kind of it at the moment!
HV: Anything else you wanna share?
SF: I'm an old soul who constantly feels torn between the comfort of nostalgia and a want for better things in regards to justice and equity. That's really what this whole album was about, It's a bunch of femme rage sandwiched between two songs about the allure of the past as I get closer and closer to what feels like a frightening future (hopefully not). So, if anyone reading this is also an old soul who loves old things but also wants to see change- let's connect!
