Cape Francis Interview: Stop Sleeping on 'Plateaus'
- Tucker Cargile
- Mar 9, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 1, 2021
By Tucker Cargile
In late January, I stumbled upon an eye-catching album cover (Art by: Chris Mott) and it was Cape Francis' third LP, which was released September 18, 2020. The project is called Plateaus and it explores themes of mental being, as the world we live in can often be grueling. The 11-song project boasts authenticity and it is one of the most beautiful albums that I have listened to in recent years. Stop sleeping on this man and give it a listen.
I recently caught up with Kevin Olken Henthorn, known professionally as Cape Francis, to speak about Plateaus, life during the pandemic, and his recent move to Los Angeles. Kevin opened up to us more than most artists do, sharing unfiltered thoughts and opinions that we can all relate to.
You recently moved from New York to Los Angeles, what brought you out to the West Coast?
Kevin: It was something that me and my partner always knew that we would do and we just decided to finally do it when COVID happened. It was like we were planning to do it anyway and then we lost our jobs, so we decided to slowly make our trek out West.
How has this last year been for you?
Kevin: Definitely jarring. It’s been a crazy, fucked up year. As bad as it has been I was really lucky to have a house to stay at when things really hit the fan. We were also lucky to have that time to figure out what we wanted to do and in doing so, a friend of mine was making a movie out in LA and he loosely mentioned that my partner and I should score the movie. Then both of us went writing and we wrote a bunch of music and we landed scoring this Miramax movie, Mother / Android. So, that is where our heads are at now.
That is huge!
Kevin: Yeah, it is a trajectory change. Michelle (partner) is a composer, that has always been her career path and I am slowly through this pandemic realizing that I could be good at that as well. I went to film school and I definitely enjoy scores. As we started teaming up, we had a realization that this is where we want our careers headed. That being said, Cape Francis will always be Cape Francis, I will always continue putting out music there. But ya know, people don’t always like to pay for indie music. You gotta go elsewhere sometimes.
What is currently going on with the film?
Kevin: They are almost picture-locked, so we are almost done with a lot of stuff. We will probably be done with everything by the end of March. It has been a helluva year. Definitely a horrible year, but also a weird life-changing year. It is kind of strange to think about.
How has this year impacted your artistic growth?
Kevin: It has actually given me time to fully focus on guitar in a way that I haven’t been able to before. I’ve always had a pretty intense 9am-5pm situation, so it was always about working hard within the time that I had. Now it has been nonstop and I can work on different techniques. I am currently working on a song that I don’t think would have happened if I wouldn't have had the time to learn a Bill Callahan cover and a different style of finger-picking. That time to learn and rediscover techniques has been driving a lot of my work.
Your 2020 album 'Plateaus' is incredible and the themes are compelling, definitely one of the most underrated albums of last year. How was the writing process?
Kevin: As I was writing it, I realized that it was the third part of these albums I've been writing. It definitely feels a part of the other two albums. They are all centered around different states of mental being with the first being Falling into Pieces, the second being Deep Water, and this one being Plateaus. This album was about being on a steady and visible path upward, but not feeling like you are and I think that is where a lot of people I know are at in their late-twenties and early-thirties. You often feel like nothing is moving, when it actually is.
Damn, that is deep. What was the recording like?
Kevin: A lot of that album was actually improvised, just putting pieces together on the spot. I think about the "Plateaus" guitar line, that was all improvised as we built this loop and then we were like "okay let's try something over this". A lot of the lyrics were crafted that way too, I spent a lot of time thinking about these lyrics and then it just kind of all came together in the recording.
The track "Just Because" is poignant and the lyrics "Just because you did it once/Don't make you a natural/Just because you joined a march/Don't make you a radical" seemed fitting due to the events that have transpired in the last year. What was the meaning behind these lyrics?
Kevin: I definitely didn’t foresee 2020. That song was written the summer before, but I think that has only brought out the intention even more. I often found myself joining something to feel better about myself in that moment, the whole song is about therapy and being told to go to therapy. The song is pretty much about that, it imagines a world where I don’t go to therapy and it doesn’t turn out very well.
What is your favorite song off of 'Plateaus'?
Kevin: I go back and forth, my favorites are the ones that calm and soothe me. Probably "Friends", it was something that I felt really good about making. I like a lot of them though.
What is your dream collaboration?
Kevin: I feel like it would be writing a song with Julia Jacklin, she is amazing. Her and Angel Olsen are just amazing songwriters.
Are you looking forward to playing shows again?
Kevin: I am looking forward to playing quieter shows. I haven’t missed it that much though, I really enjoy writing. I honestly want to go to a show rather than play a show.
Do you have an artist that you want to see in mind?
Kevin: I sure as shit would love to see Idles play a show. I also don’t know the LA scene very well, so I’m most excited to discover people and go to shows every week.
I noticed your cat, Wednesday, on your Instagram page. Are you a big cat guy?
Kevin: I am actually allergic to cats, but we ended up getting a cat and I love Wednesday. I kinda hate Instagram, don’t love playing live Instagram shows, so when I need to post something I just go find Wednesday.
It is interesting that you despise Instagram. How important do you think social media is to the success of an artist?
Kevin: If you want to succeed it is super important. I think it is horrible and trash. I think what it's doing is making the people who succeed on Instagram, the people who succeed in music. So if you aren’t good at that it's really tough. I just don’t like it, there's nothing about it that is suited to my personality. I hate taking selfies of myself and I don’t have anything to contribute, so it can be extremely frustrating sometimes. You need a strong social presence to be taken seriously by larger record labels, so yes it is frustrating. There are a lot of amazing musicians getting lost because of their lack of social media content.
It is insane and with the rise of TikTok it is becoming even more important. What does that mean for you?
Kevin: I'm not good at social media and I realize that, so I’m just going to do what I’m good at and continue to put out albums that I enjoy. At the end of the day, I will have like ten albums and that means more to me than engaging on social media.
Listen to Plateaus now and keep Cape Francis on your radar.
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