Interview | Frank Foucault

ICMP's MA Songwriting alumnus Luke Smith has shared a new live show online as his Frank Foucault alter-ego.

'Frank Foucault: Live' is now available to watch on YouTube, having been filmed at Just The Tonic's Big Caves venue in Edinburgh during the 2023 festival.

Luke released the new content as the 2024 Edinburgh Festival began - and we caught up with him to find out more about how his time at ICMP helped bring the project to life...

To start with, I'm interested to hear how your musical journey began? Was there a song or artist who inspired you to start making music? 

The film 'The School of Rock'. That single handedly changed my life forever. When I was a kid I just wanted to be in Green Day. Shortly after that Arctic Monkeys made a huge impact.

I joined bands at a young age and had delusions of grandeur about the significance of the whole thing. I thought we were going to invent new genres and have Sky Arts make documentaries about us in the future. That never happened. I don't know. There's still time. 

Where did your love for comedy/stand-up come from? And how did you first marry this with music?

Again, it was when I was a kid. The first stand up comedy I remember seeing was live. It was a comedian called Jamie Campbell. He was a comedian who did shows specifically for families and kids and stuff.

I got very hyper-fixated on comedy and dug up everything I could find. I started doing stand up at age 14. I honestly don't know what possessed me." 

In terms of how it fitted with music, it honestly didn't occur to me to marry the two until much later. I kept my songwriting and music making very separate and private. It wasn't until the pandemic when it became a main feature of the act. 

How did you start the project as Frank? Where did the inspiration come from? 

I chose the stage name when I was about 18. It was at a time when I wasn't talking about myself on stage and felt like the act was completely separate from myself. 

At the time it was a sort of parody of a cabaret/music hall thing. It's now evolved into genuine and sincere music hall. 

What led you to ICMP? And how did you find your time with us? 

I saw an ad on Facebook in lockdown. The one thing the comedy scene gave me that I couldn't find in music at the time, was a sense of community. I didn't really know anyone who also wrote songs. So it was amazing being part of such a great group and seeing people's work every week 

What were the key things you've learned?

I learned a lot about the way I listen to music and songs. I learned that I don't usually pay much attention to lyrics on a first listen. That came as a surprise to me because I always thought I was a lyric guy. 

I also learned a lot of tools and tricks that help with co-writes, song mapping, splurging stuff like that.

Most of all at ICMP, I learned about who I am and my strengths as a songwriter not really from the course itself, but the people involved and other students." 

How did you edit the live album? 

I used a free software called Davinci Resolve to edit it. There was a point when my computer crashed as it couldn't handle the amount of work. So there's a song where I had to basically use one shot and use loads of fun, weird, stretchy digital zooms and fades to make it feel more interesting. It's actually a really boring job editing a stand up show or concert so I just did much mad stuff as I could to keep myself interested.

How has your creative process evolved since studying with ICMP?

Before starting with ICMP I had thoughts of abandoning the comedy thing completely and just going all in with music. Studying with ICMP helped me realise that it didn't have to be a choice of one or the other. In fact, if I want to write songs as authentically as I can, I actually need to allow the humour to come through. And it isn't at the expense of music or artistry. 

How have your experiences in Edinburgh been? 

I was chatting to a friend of mine recently about how when you're doing a show at the fringe, you’re going through two polarising experiences simultaneously. It's the best, most fulfilling thing at the same time as being crushing, exhausting and crisis inducing. 

I'm very jealous of everyone doing a show this year. 

What does the future look like for you and your different projects?

I’m currently writing a new show I’m planning on taking up to the fringe in 2025. As per, it's super ambitious and I'm really excited with the feeling that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. 

Watch the new live performance here. Luke will  co-hosting the Mushroom Comedy night at Hackney Showroom every month from September.