Karima's second chance
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE excitement in her voice moves up a notch as singer songwriter Karima Francis talks about her new album – the second chance she wasn’t sure she’d get.
In 2008, Karima was being tipped as one of the names to watch for 2009 – The Observer put her top in their Top 20 acts to look out for in 2009.
Her debut album came out that spring, but despite a great showing on Later With Jools Holland and a tour where both her voice and songs were praised to the skies, the reviews for The Author were mixed.
Since then, it’s gone a bit quiet on Karima. Until now.
Out of the spotlight – and after illness that meant she spent time in hospital – she’s still fitted in an American tour and writing new album The Remedy.
And looking back with slight disappointment at first album The Author, the contrast with how she feels about Flood-produced The Remedy couldn’t be more obvious.
Born in Blackpool, and now Manchester-based, Karima was back in Blackpool after the first night of her long national tour when she spoke to Highland Freetime.
Topics up for discussion included the album, Highland dates this week and how she is itching to meet her gig-goers again – one of Karima’s great pleasures in getting out on the road.
"I got really poorly in 2009 and spent a couple of years in hospital, then last year I wrote the second album.
"I also demoed some of the songs in America touring with Linda Perry, who was the lead singer with 4 Non Blondes. That was an amazing experience. I got a few good songs while I was out there because I was so inspired."
Karima has changed music publishers, but remains with label Kitchenware.
But the long break took its toll.
"I’d lost a lot of self-belief and felt out of sync with the times," said Karima. "But Kitchenware kept me on and have been very supportive.
"I know I didn’t get it right the last time, there were different producers and I didn’t feel I was being listened to.
"The Remedy is what pulled me out of the darkest place.
"I chose the title of the album because I felt the music has saved me.
"And if it wasn’t for getting the opportunity to make it and having that to work towards – music is like food to me – it would probably have killed me."
With material for the new album, Karima was introduced through her label to producer Mark Ellis aka Flood – who has produced everything from U2’s Joshua Tree, to Editors’ In This Light and On This Evening and PJ Harvey’s albums, the latest being this week’s Mercury Prize-winner-Let England Shake.
Karima described the first meeting: "He listened to the demos and they did sound quite big and American and I just said ‘I’ll play them for you live’.
"Afterwards, he said ‘Now I can totally get you. And I can’t understand why people didn’t want to capture you live before!’
"So that’s what we did.
"I made the demos in my bedroom, played them to Flood and said ‘I want to sound like that, but a lot bigger!’
Karima said: "I want to get the impact still of where I left off.
"I just wondered if the result would be big enough to come back with, after all this time.
"But I’ve never believed so much in anything before."
On YouTube, you can see Karima performing Forgiven, one of the songs set to be a highlight of The Remedy.
"Me and Flood knew that song could be absolutely huge."
Karima sings her heart out in a field, finishing as the camera pans back and a deer suddenly appears, bounding through the grass.
Karima laughed: "That field was actually right next to a motorway! The deer just appeared and then was gone again."
Being back in Blackpool had Karima looking back.
"It feels like home, but if you don’t have showbusiness in your heart and have a dream to turn to, it’s quite prone to bringing on depression.
"I could look out at the sea whenever I wanted, but I had to move away to Manchester because though people tried to put gigs on and have house concerts, there weren’t a lot of people into the same music I am."
Karima is desperate to be playing live on tour again: "The most important thing to me is playing live. And the connection to the audience is what it is all about for me," the singer revealed.
As well as hooking up with existing fans on the tour, Karima is looking forward to playing new places – like her three Highland dates in Inverness, Ullapool and Stornoway – and meeting new people.
"I have moved on from the person who brought out The Author," she said. "These fans will probably be the most important fans I will make in my whole life. And I hope the people who hear me on this tour will be there forever."
Karima Francis - supported by Megan Blyth - plays the Ironworks, Inverness, on Thursday. Karima also appears at Stornoway's Woodlands on Saturday and at the Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, on Sunday.
