Thrills Radio 7.0 - Curated by Leroy Francis

Meet Leroy Francis. Not just a good friend of ours, but a charming multi-instrumentalist from Sydney. We sat down with Leroy to ask him a few q's about his past, present and future. Get to know him here:

Nat: So you’re the poster boi for our 'Intoxicated Dreams' campaign - But you’re not a model, are you Roy? You’re a musician. Tell us a little bit about you.

Leroy: I’m, not even a model citizen… I sling beers in a bar, watch films from dusk til dawn, spend the days trying to write music and repeat it all again.

Nat: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got in to music and a little bit about your musical journey so far?

Leroy: I got in a lot of trouble at school so I was assigned to a school councillor who happened to be a music teacher. She got me in to music as a way of getting out some energy.

I played with my mates in a band called Cabins which was doing ok for a bit but we fucked around too much and all got habits that stopped us from progressing.

That’s when I moved to NYC.

Nat: And that’s how the new band (Leroy Francis) came about?

Leroy: Yeah. I spent a few months in a studio in NYC where The Strokes recorded “Is This It”. There was a black out for 2 weeks while I was in there, so I lived in total darkness for that time, just trying to play drums as much as I could to stop me from being spooked.

When I moved back to Australia I moved in to a shed in Camden and continued to record songs. I released those puppies and then got all my favourite musicians together to play them live.

Nat: What are you listening to at the moment? And what inspires you, musically?

Leroy: I never listen to music that is similar to the music I make. Mostly I juggle between early noughties stuff like, 'Dancing in the Moonlight' (Toploader’s version) and punk like, Death Grips.

Inspiration-wise, I get a lot of ideas from film soundtracks and scores.

Nat: What are you into outside of music?

Leroy: I’m a film buff. I like literature, but my eyes are giving up on me so reading has become more and more of a chore. Horror films in particular I think are the best. If a film can make you terrified to be alone in house with locked doors, then you know it’s good baby.

Nat: Nice. Me too. Ok, so you’re pretty well known for breaking bones and serious injuries. What’s the deal?

Leroy: A lot of people think I’m unlucky. But hey, I’m part of the 1% of people who survive after being hit by a bus. So you do the math, babe.

I guess I spend a lot of time out of the house and have a reckless and self destructive streak. Mix that with stupidity, and you get yourself some decent injuries.

Nat: What’s next for the band?

Future plans are to just repeat what I’ve done already, but in quicker succession. As well as touring. I plan to have another record out this year.

Get amongst Leroy's playlist below: