Francis of Delirium

Francis of Delirium, AKA 22-year old Luxembourg based artist Jana Bahrich, has shared a beautiful new track ‘First Touch’. The track is produced by Catherine Marks (boygenius, Wolf Alice, The Killers) and released via Dalliance Recordings.

‘First Touch’ follows on from previous single ‘Real Love’, and gives us further insight into the new artistic era Francis of Delirium is stepping into. Having previously released 3 critically acclaimed EPs between 2020 and 2022, Jana is shifting her sound from angst filled alt-rock, to a more vulnerable and open sonic palette, embracing pop alongside rock to create Gen-Z anthems which celebrate the beautiful things of the world.

  
In ‘First Touch’ tumbling layers of acoustic guitar and drums create a bed for Jana’s forlorn but hopeful vocals. Soaring choruses reminisce about first encounters and first loves. Blending dream-pop, shoegaze and indie-rock, ‘First Touch’ captures a bittersweet moment that resonates universally.

Speaking on the track, Jana offers:

"‘First Touch’ was a bit of a departure from our usual approach of writing with heavy electric guitar and drums. Instead, Chris and I decided to start experimenting with acoustic guitar and drums. During that time, I started listening to a lot of Sheryl Crow’s music, particularly her song 'Soak Up the Sun,' which became a source of inspiration for the song. I wanted 'First Touch' to have a kind of 'sun-rock' vibe. The core of 'First Touch' is about looking back at love with a sense of nostalgia and idealism. I wanted to capture the youthful feeling of being completely consumed by someone and believing everything would work out, even if that is naive. But, I also wanted to emphasize the beauty of that sentiment, the hope and trust that come with really believing in the authenticity of love.”

At the end of August, Francis of Delirium shared a new video for previous single ‘Real Love’. Following a young couple in the tentative stages of falling for one another, the video is tender and evocative, but comes with a twist in the tale at the end. Jana stepped into co-directing and co-producing roles on the video, with the previously released lyric video for the track being constructed out of her own hand drawn animations.

‘First Touch’ and ‘Real Love’ come following a busy year of touring with the likes of Soccer Mommy, Briston Maroney, Horsegirl, The Districts and hitting Eurosonic, Iceland Airwaves and Tree Fort Fest, as well as opening for The 1975 and Kings of Leon.

Francis of Delirium will be playing a London headline show at The Lexington on 15 November. 

More about Francis of Delirium:

Since first emerging in early-2020 with the anthemic ‘Quit Fucking Around’ and releasing a critically acclaimed 3-part EP trilogy between 2020 and 2022, Francis of Delirium gained praise for distilling the angst and despair that plagues a generation who faces an uncertain present and future. 

Francis of Delirium was recently shortlisted for 2022’s highly prestigious ESNS Music Moves Europe Award, as well as gaining accolades from the world’s music press and supporting some of the biggest artists on the planet, at still only 21 years old. A restless energy and desire to connect with the listener lies at the core of the project, with Jana’s personal lyrics being underpinned by a fierce rock sound that is as liberating as it is intense. Hailed as a Gen Z’er excitingly redrawing 90s classic indie rock, a deep admiration for contemporary acts such as Car Seat Headrest, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens is also abundantly clear.

Having returned from North America after playing 26 support dates with The Districts at the start of 2022 - plus a debut headline show in New York and festival slots at both Shaky Knees and Treefort - Jana arrived back to the UK/EU for a run of support dates with Soccer Mommy, Horsegirl & Briston Maroney as well as a support show with Kings of Leon in Luxembourg City. Her music has traveled far beyond its place of origin and has seen praise from Stereogum, FADER, Paste, Pitchfork, The Line of Best Fit, Clash, 6Music, Radio 1, KEXP and NPR, to name but a few.