Aluna Francis, one half of duo AlunaGeorge, recently debuted her first solo single on Mad Decent, with “Body Pump.” She has collaborated with producer George Reid under AlunaGeorge since 2012, and Francis is now speaking up about what inspired her to release music as herself outside of the hit-making duo.
Earlier in the group’s journey, Francis admits to The Forty-Five, she always thought those who asked if she would ever do solo music were “mad” because what she and Reid had was so special and fruitful. As time had gone on though, Francis’ stance had shifted somewhat. Francis talks about how, over time, there were certain musical areas that didn’t feel right for her to explore in a duo because they were “singularly from [her] culture and perspective.”
“I did feel a little bit self-conscious trying to drag George through my own process of self-discovery,” Francis said. “I wrote a song before we put out the last EP which was about my mum and my grandma, and George is obviously supportive, but it’s just a bit weird, like ‘hey, do you want to finish off this black women’s anthem with me?’”
Francis will be releasing a full-length solo album on Diplo‘s Mad Decent imprint, but she confirms that even though she will be putting out the album on her own, AlunaGeorge is not over. The group is on a hiatus while she explores her own solo voice, and will hopefully be back in the future.
