Life of the Party is set for release on October 11th via Launchpad+ / EMI North

"'Easy Does It' captures Pidgeon’s ear for idiosyncratic melodies, placing her elastic vocal lines above a rubbery bass hook, and buzzing synths."

- Under The Radar

"A white-knuckle ride of gloriously tuneful 20-something angst. A jazzy, brassy paean to modern anxiety. (Dilettante) is a consummate multi-instrumentalist, making brilliantly extravagant art-pop soap operas."

- Electronic Sound Magazine

"One of my new favourite bands."

- Tom Robinson, 6Music

"The North-East's favourite up and coming angst-masters - Dilettante's set is an exceptional performance piece, an unreal amount of live layering. Francesca spits vocals with deft pronunciation; this level of art wouldn't work with sunshine and smiles. Exceptional."

- NARC Magazine

Northern outsider-pop project Dilettante, led by Leeds-born multi-instrumentalist and award-winning composer Francesca Pidgeon, has just shared her newest single, ‘Honey’, out now via Launchpad+ / EMI North. Known for her captivating live performances and loop-heavy art-pop sound, Francesca is also a member of BC Camplight and a recipient of the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award for composers. This sarcastic, art-pop track follows previous releases ‘Fun’ and ‘Easy Does It,’ which garnered support from the likes of Under The Radar, Narc and BBC Radio 6 Music's Chris Hawkins, Steve Lamacq, Marc Riley, and Gideon Coe.

‘Honey’ is a lively, tongue-in-cheek exploration of frustration and self-acceptance. Inspired by Pidgeon's transformative solo trip to Toronto for NXNE, the song captures the liberating yet challenging emotions of travel and personal discovery. "I was running around this town feeling alive again, meeting new people, and I felt great," Francesca recalls. "Then, I called home, and one conversation just soured everything for me. It’s about the frustration of people wanting me to be someone I’m not."

With a chorus that embodies a playful sass — “Aww, Honey!” — Francesca channels her experiences with societal expectations and unwanted advances. “It's about people wanting me to change, or coming onto me awkwardly, and me just feeling sorry for them instead of angry,” she adds. Originally inspired by the country and folk singers Francesca encountered in Canada, "Honey" began as a stripped-back, guitar-driven tune before evolving into a production that retains her signature experimentation.

Accompanying the single is a new music video, created fromfootage captured on an Insta360 camera mounted to Francesca's bike handlebars. "The video was the result of me attaching a borrowed Insta360 camera to my bike handlebars every day for a few weeks and capturing every journey I made on it," she explains. "There’s something super freeing about cycling in a new city, and I felt like maybe I could get that feeling across even in my old city, doing the same route I do every day pretty much. That said, it’s also about the grind of heading into the studio space every day to do the same thing, and the pull of home and familiarity."

Dilettante’s latest single sets the stage for her forthcoming album, Life of the Party, due out on January 24th, 2024. This new record is Francesca’s first fully self-produced album and her most personal work yet. Created within the confines of a converted freight container, Life of the Party is a reflection on societal pressures, turning 30, and navigating complex themes such as polyamory, neurodivergency and the aftermath of speaking out about sexual assault. “This record is, at times, the weirdest stuff I’ve ever put out and at times the poppiest,” Francesca reveals.

The album continues Dilettante’s signature art-pop sound while embracing a more synth-heavy direction and exploring a gentler, more traditional songwriting style. "I’ve been listening to Andy Shauf and Harry Nilsson a lot, trying to write from the piano," she shares. With this album, Dilettante pushes boundaries and invites listeners into her unique worldview — one that questions the norms of society.

In addition to the album release, Dilettante will be hitting the road for a series of live shows across the UK later this year. Audiences can expect a dynamic performance that showcases Francesca’s loop-heavy art-pop style alongside her band members: Aaron Collins-Wood (bass), Jack Mee (drums), Katie Pham (guitar/percussion/vocals), Robin Koob (violin/synth/vocals) and Caitlin Laing-McEvoy (bari sax/synth/vocals).