Two members of the indie-folk rock band Frankie and the Lost Souls reflect an increasingly common Canadian story. Lynkse and Nathalie—band members go by their first names—were both raised in Asian immigrant households. Their parents enrolled them in the Royal Conservatory of Music. And from a young age, Lynkse and Nathalie immersed themselves in the piano, learning the structures of classical music. Yet as adults, they’re playing different genres that excite them.
“We come from those backgrounds, but we are always drawn to rock music and folk music—and this sense of freedom and rebellion,” Lynkse tells Pancouver over Zoom.
Lynkse’s parents immigrated from Shanghai three months after the government crushed the Tiananmen Square student rebellion in the summer of 1989. A well-known Shanghainese piano teacher in Vancouver, Yunlin Yang, taught him how to play.
“All her students used to win the awards in the Kiwanis piano competitions,” Lynkse says. “Then, she actually went back later to become the director for the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.”
In Frankie and the Lost Souls, Lynkse plays the electric guitar. Inspired by masterful axemen like Angus Young, Dallas Green, and Jimmy Page, Lynkse injects high-energy and rapid-fire melodies into lyrical and emotionally laden songs like “after all” and “take it from me (insecure)”.
Nathalie, the newest addition to the band, sang harmonies on their recently released Bloodlines EP. She will also sing harmonies and play piano, keyboards, and synthesizer on-stage on Saturday (March 15) evening when Frankie and the Lost Souls perform at the Roxy Cabaret along with Ayla Bryn and Sadie Kiss.
From Vietnamese covers to Frankie
Nathalie’s mother is from Saigon (called Ho Chi Minh City by the government) and her father is from Huế, a city on Vietnam’s central coast.
“Most of my musical inspiration actually comes from my dad because he was a musician in Vietnam,” Nathalie says on the same Zoom call. “He was in prison in one of the re-education camps during the war, as well. But he told me a story about how he got better treatment because he would play guitar and everyone enjoyed it so much.”
Nathalie’s mother told her that she started singing when she was a baby. Back then, there were diasporic variety shows called Paris by Night and Asia Entertainment, which presented Vietnamese cultural history through plays and skits. These series also featured Vietnamese, American, and British songs, and Nathalie would sing along to the tapes.
“That’s how I first got exposed to a lot of Western music, albeit first in Vietnamese covers of them,” Nathalie says. “When I was seven, I started doing piano lessons through a local nonprofit in the Downtown Eastside.”
Eventually, she found a different instructor and went through the Royal Conservatory of Music examination program like other kids with Asian ancestry. Many have grown up to perform a wide variety of musical styles. Some are even reconnecting musically with their heritage languages through the Jade Music Fest.
As a pianist, Nathalie is partial to Claude Debussy’s compositions in the classical realm. One of her favourite contemporary musicians is Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. Nathalie speaks Vietnamese and likes to try other languages when she is travelling abroad. Lynkse speaks Mandarin and Shanghainese. He can also read Chinese.
Check out the video (above) for “take it from me (insecure)”.
Band’s video filmed in Vancouver
Lynkse attended UBC around the same time as the founders of Frankie and the Lost Souls—Erica and Sebastian—were on campus. In those days, Lynkse was president of the UBC Guitar Club and Erica ran open mic events at the Gallery Patio & Lounge. Meanwhile, Sebastian was working at the Barbecue Pit at the Student Union Building.
“They started dating and playing music,” Lynkse says.
Lynkse didn’t actually meet Erica and Sebastian until early 2023 at an open mic event. Later that year, Lynkse joined the band as lead guitarist.
Because Erica’s middle name is Frances, she chose “Frankie” as her stage name. Sebastian went with “Bass” because as a chef, he was called Sea Bass or Chef Bass. Plus, Sebastian plays the stand-up and electric bass. This explains why the couple called themselves Frankie and the Bass when they started performing as a duo in 2009.
“The band has evolved from performing classic Canadiana campfire covers at open mics and busking on street corners to a creative tour-de-force bringing to life Erica’s folk and country-inspired originals,” Frankie and the Lost Souls states on their website.
They added Lynkse on lead guitar to enrich the music with hot guitar licks that “hint at a nostalgia for 90s and early 00s pop-rock soundscape”. The EP Bloodlines demonstrates Frankie’s talent as a songwriter and lyricist. The first track, “take it from me (insecure)” opens with Frankie’s powerful voice over top of Lynkse’s subtle guitar twang.
“Would you believe if I said I was insecure / Take it from me, I’ve never been sure,” Frankie sings, setting the stage for what’s to follow.
VFX editor and colour specialist Diego Manssur shot the engaging video along Vancouver railroad tracks. He also filmed the band singing under the Granville Street Bridge in front of Haida artist Corey Bulpitt’s mural, And the Raven Brought the Light.
Frankie sings about her love for Bass
The second song on Bloodlines, “after all”, delivers a lush musical tale of lost love, showcasing Lynkse’s elegant guitar work and Frankie’s haunting vocals.
Meanwhile, the EP’s title track is a melodic and haunting exploration of chasing one’s bloodlines as it addresses intergenerational trauma. Lynkse plays some scorching guitar and there’s also a bass solo. He reveals that Frankie has Dutch ancestry and her grandmother experienced hardship during the Second World War.
One of the band’s signature songs, which they are recording for their upcoming album human condition, is called “basement sweet”. It’s a lovely rockabilly number about how Frankie fell in love with a boy from California. She’s referring to Bass, of course, with lyrics recalling their good times together in a basement suite on the West Side of Vancouver.
The new album will give Nathalie a chance to shine on piano, keyboards, and synthesizer, as well as with her harmony vocals. As Lynkse and Nathalie continue along their musical journey, they have nothing but praise for their immigrant parents.
“We cannot be who we are without our parents, because lessons cost money, instruments cost money,” Lynkse says. “Since we’ve come together as a band, they’ve tried to attend every performance that they can. They’ve all been very, very supportive. I think that’s important to highlight.”
Event details
Frankie and the Lost Souls will perform on Saturday (March 15) at the Roxy Cabaret along with Ayla Bryn and Sadie Kiss. Doors open at 7 p.m. Visit Showpass.com for tickets. To learn more about Frankie and the Lost Souls, visit the band’s website, follow them on Instagram, or check out their music on YouTube or Spotify.
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