A Quick Chat With James Franklin

We are STOKED to announce our very first guest that will soon appear on Real Songwriters TV, James Franklin, who will be releasing his debut EP this weekend. So we thought we'd do a mini Q&A before the real deal.

1) Give us three words to describe your music.
Soul Meets Folk.

2) So we hear that you are releasing a debut EP later on this month. What can listeners expect to hear?
I hope that when listeners hear the EP, they will feel a range of emotions. When we were working on the EP we wanted to make it feel like a live show. Sleepwalking and Testify start and finish the EP and they are soulful and funky tracks you could dance to at a cool bar or club. The other two songs in the middle of the EP have a jazz and folk feel to them and are songs that you and your loved ones could slow dance to. I really tried to create an EP that could touch every listener in a special way.

3) Who did you work with to produce the EP?
On this EP I worked with two Australian music legends, Steve Wade and Doug Brady. Steve (Ex Little River Band) having shared the stage with acts like Hall & Oates, Chicago and America co - produced and played various instruments on the EP and Doug Brady (Sound - Engineer/Producer) who has worked with artists like John Farnham, Lenny Kravitz and Keith Urban co - produced and engineered the EP. I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have two huge names working on this EP with me, without them I wouldn’t have been able to do this!

4) Sleepwalking is your debut single and is a very upbeat song with strong lyrics. Could you tell us your thoughts when writing this?
I wrote Sleepwalking when I was still in high school. At the time, I was being told by teachers that being a musician wasn’t something that was possible and I knew that all I wanted to do was be a musician and I knew I wanted to do whatever it takes to make it happen. So around the time I wrote the song, a career in music was less of a “risk” in my mind but more something that I had to do and the song talks about not listening to people who tell you that you can’t do something when you know you can and you will.

5) Are your songs based off personal or fictional experiences?
Every song I write is from something I experience. Although the story that I have written into the song might have a different character in a different setting, whatever that character feels in my songs I have felt before. It’s very hard for me to write a song that moves me when it is about an emotion I haven’t experienced. Whilst I have tried to write songs that don’t relate to me, I never feel that they are good enough to stay in my setlist.

6) When will the EP be released and will there be a launch?
Saturday July 25th is the release date for my debut EP The Laundry Room Mixtape follow my facebook page for all updates about future gigs!

Follow James Franklin on
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