Disclaimer: The content of this article includes themes of sexual assault and violence.
Victoria and Vancouver Island have a lot of musical talent, and Victoria Buzz wants to highlight some of the best and brightest local artists and bands.
Every Monday, there will be a fresh ‘New Music Monday’ article to help people find and support local artists and bands that are up-and-coming, well established or hidden gems!
For this endeavour, Victoria Buzz has partnered with our good friends at CFUV 101.9 FM, UVic’s campus radio station, to find and select the musicians and bands for this regular column.
This week, Frances Hope is the New Music Monday highlight!
Since releasing her last batch of songs, local singer-songwriter Frances Hope has been busy travelling and writing lots of new music.
She says that since she released Breakup Songs, she has been busy, all while staying laser-focussed on furthering her music career.
“I went to Spain, France and Austria and I wrote an album,” Hope told Victoria Buzz.
However, before she could get to work on her newest album that she wrote while travelling abroad, Hope said she had to get a particularly challenging song written and recorded.
“This song is kind of the toughest song I’ve ever written,” she said in reference to her latest single, “After.”
“Basically something happened to me while I was 21, which changed the course of my life and how I let men in relationships, and other relationships, treat me.”
Hope is referring to a matter of abuse she had to navigate in the past, which she is open about through her music and in the community in hopes that it helps other survivors navigate the trauma.
She says that “After” came from a moment of retraumatization which took place in the fall.
“I wrote the song to help myself cope and get through it—I was just a mess and it was a really tough time, and I just thought, ‘I thought I dealt with you, [trauma],’” Hope explained.
Hope says another big contributing factor to her writing “After” was the recent less-than-ideal verdict against Jesse Paul Chiavaroli, former employee of the since-closed Chuck’s Burger Bar in downtown Victoria.
Chiavaroli had been charged by an ex-partner of sexual assault dating back to May 2019, but received an “not guilty” verdict this March.
He had been accused of throwing her on his bed, violently removing her clothes and strangling her, while having sex forcibly after she tried to break up with him.
The judge in this case decided there were inconsistencies in her story which could not allow for a “guilty” verdict.
Hope wishes that this verdict would have been guilty and says that any inconsistencies in the victim’s story are likely due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“Its upsetting to me because I actually went on a date with [Chiavaroli],” Hope told Victoria Buzz.
“He actually ghosted me and I am so glad that he did. I think I was a little too sassy and not as easy a target, and the fact that I wasn’t drinking—I don’t drink alcohol anymore—I think is another reason.”
She says that he would use the places he worked, get his victims drunk and bring them to his home to sexually assault them.
“There are hoards of women who came forward about it and I know some people who did,” she continued.
“The fact that it’s just one more guy who gets off scot-free, it’s so…I can’t even tell you how distressing it is.”
Hope says she has been sexually assaulted twice in her life, and both times nothing came of it because she either chose not to report it, or because the way police handled her case was too traumatic.
All these factors and feelings of hopelessness, Hope channeled into the song “After.”
Preview the song below:
To listen to “After” in its entirety, and to check out Frances Hope’s other music, check out her Spotify or Apple Music pages.
Hope has another single, “Pretty,” which will be on the forthcoming full-length record, in which she tackles more sometimes-difficult matters to speak about through her music.
“That one’s basically about having an eating disorder,” said Hope. “But it actually slaps though, it’s like, a bop.”
Aside from that, Hope is continuing to write and record with collaborators Neil James Cooke-Dallin Burning from Rainbow Studios and Astrocolou, as well as Ron Thaler.
Additionally, she’s also saying that she may be working with a producer who previously worked with music icon Jan Arden in the near future.
Hope has a show coming up through the City of Victoria at Fort Commons from noon to 1 p.m. on June 19th.
Additionally, she will be playing in front of Russell Books every Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the summer.
Related:
- New Music Monday: Elbow Kiss revitalizes the harp in new single and music video
- New Music Monday: Sofia Miller embraces non-perfectionism on heartfelt instrumental album
- New Music Monday: Coup D’état debut album explores themes of loss and grief
CFUV is a non-profit campus and community radio station that plays a ton of local music of all kinds across Vancouver Island. If you like to support local music they are an amazing resource with a plethora of new local tunes in their arsenal.
“CFUV is such an incredible thing to have and such a great community,” Hope said.
“They are really good at making you feel really special, like you’re farther along in your career than you are.”
Tune into CFUV 101.9 FM on air or online!
Let us know what you think of Frances Hope in the comments below!
