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Neil Frances and Raffaella

Oct 21, 2020 Neil Frances By Caleb Campbell

Sydney-born Jordan Feller and Southern California native Marc Gilfry make up the LA-based duo Neil Frances. The pair brings together Feller’s hip hop influence and production talents with Gilfry’s ear for an irresistible melody for a winning dance pop combination. The duo has been released a string of stellar singles throughout 2020. The last was “Tuesday,” which lovingly transported the listener back to the 1990s house scene, bringing a bright rush of serotonin to a bleak time. Neil Frances’ latest track, “On The Lookout” brings New York alt pop singer Raffaella on vocals for another delightfully danceable song, marrying crisp, organic production, and expert melodic sensibilities.

The track opens on ethereal vocals and spacey piano chords before the beat comes in with an infectious bass groove and handclaps. Raffaella’s whispered vocals blend almost imperceptibly into the beat, adding to the hypnotic rhythm. When she takes on the lead vocals it only adds to the glittery pop high of the track. Raffaella is best known as a rising star in the indie pop world, bringing together the dreamy vocals of Lana Del Rey with the vintage feel of Billie Holliday, but she fits in perfectly with the track’s dance style. When you listen past the addictive beat and warm melodies, the song also has the tone of a black comedy. Frustrated with the creative grind, Raffaella wishes for an easier path, singing on the song’s earworm chorus, “I’m on the lookout / Hey someone famous / Hit me with your car.”

Neil Frances says of the track, “We wrote this song the first day we met. It was one of the magic sessions where we all hit it off and created something special. Raffaella came with a subject that felt honest and real, which made writing the tune so much easier. Sometimes making music with people can be like paddling a canoe and this particular session’s conditions had no wind, clear water, and everyone’s oars perfectly in rhythm.” Raffaella explains further saying, “When we wrote this song I had been feeling increasingly, well, run down…apathetic, numb, generally losing perspective. There’s something cathartic in making fun of a hypothetical, violent desire to compensate for a lack of a physical reality… finding a way to ground ourselves in a world where we’re constantly chasing the intangible. My brain immediately went to that lyric ‘Someone famous hit me with your car’ because there’s something psychologically satisfying about tying humor to frustration.” The latest effort from the duo is not only a cathartic piece of dance pop but endlessly fun as well. Listen to the track below.