She's a New Age Madonna...

She's only just 21, but newcomer Lara Frances is set to make a dent on the local musical landscape this summer with her refreshing mix of pop and nu-folk. This pretty pixie girl studying industrial psychology at Stellenbosch, is indeed a welcome antidote to contrived pop – a fabrication too clearly depicted in Idols these days. Her songs balance intensity and craft, eloquence and honesty. In short: a fiery brew in a delicate vessel which is more Missy Higgins than Britney Spears.

Because she is "iets in die twintig en ten volle tweetalig", her debut consists of Afrikaans and English songs which entertain seamlessly. The binding factor being a young woman's experience of life and love. Instead of the raw existential angst so often found amongst her peers, hope shines through like a bright light in her unique voice and lyrics. Despite this, bittersweet reality do creep in in songs like "Wyn" – "Jy lyk nog tien keer beter ná nog 'n glasie wyn". Dreams of love through a touch of melancholy. But hope always prevails.

The title track, "High on Life", is pure polished pop celebrating life and independence with an irresistible melody. The upbeat tune stays in your head and puts a spring in your step. It's going to get serious radioplay! The thread that binds all of the material on the album together is Lara's direct lyrical approach -– she has an undeniable knack for penning piercingly sincere songs. When this is matched with the no frills instrumentation, it's a powerful combination of pure and simple.

Also on display on the album is some acoustic guitar driven songs. Her father, who was a bit of a closet muso in his day, taught her the basics of guitar playing. The rest she picked up herself playing around a bonfire on the beach à la Jack Johnson and Tristan Prettyman.

A pure new voice rises...listen and enjoy.

NOMINATED TRACK FOR RADIO: TRACK 3: HIGH ON LIFE

The title track "High on Life" is playlisted on high rotation on various commercial radio stations including KFM, Highveld Stereo and OFM.

MORE NEWS---

LARA FRANCES – BACK FROM A VERY SUCCESSFUL TOUR IN GAUTENG

“A breath of fresh air. She is still young but her future looks very bright.” Myrna Burgess, Foschini Magazine

Lara Frances recently returned from a very successful tour, having played at prominent venues in Johannesburg , Pretoria and at the annual Aardklop Festival in Potchefstroom.

On Friday 21 September she was the opening act for the legendary Piet Botha and both media and fans alike were surprised by her mesmerizing performance and intelligent lyrics. “She has a voice like Natalia Umbruglia, plays guitar like Alanis Morisette and she has the X Factor” says Christopher de Wet in a recent article in Kampus Beeld.

Piet Botha was also very impressed. He commented that Lara is an exciting new talent to watch. “She exudes an extraordinarily refreshing energy on stage.”

Lara ..s tour ended off with a much talked about performance at Oppiaarde, Potchefstroom, in a line-up among SA..s top bands including The Parlotones, Springbok Nude Girls, Love Jones, Karen Zoid, Valiant Swart and Ollie Viljoen, Foto na Dans and Fokofpolisiekar.

Lara writes and performs her own music, and her first single “High on Life” has been accepted for daytime rotation on commercial radio stations Highveld Stereo, OFM and KFM. Her second single “Scream” is also currently playlisted on KFM and Jacaranda FM. The video of “High on Life” reached the no 3 position on MK89 Top 10 and the video has also been screened as a program filler on SABC 3.

With all the positive feedback from her live performances and prominent airplay in place, Lara Frances is being hailed to become one of South- Africa..s most popular and successful new female artists.