Frankmusik. Interview.
“No one challenges me more than my own psyche and I like that.” – Frankmusik.
It is around 9am in Los Angeles and an audible sleepy voice comes over the line, professing to have “just woken up”. It is Vincent Turner, known to most as Frankmusik.We meander through a range of different topics and throughout he is endearing as he is soft spoken, sharp and witty.
He studied at the London College of Fashion but dropped out to concentrate on music. He says of it “I was bored; I thought I had to go to University, but I didn’t. I chose my course at London College of Fashion with my eyes closed. I skipped through the pages, just stopped at a page and thought I’ll do that.” It’s certainly something a little different to the numerous other students who simply fill their moments of boredom with online games at www.poker.de and trips to the Student Union. I enquire, “So you got bored and decided to make music?” He quips back, “Yeah, pretty much”.
His foray into the music world came about when he performed as beat boxer “Mr Mouth” in 2004, “It was a side project for fun and people thought I was good at it so I started, and after some time and a few events I started singing. Magic.”
Frankmusik released his debut EP, Frankisum, in 2007, He then signed to Island Records and two years later his debut album Complete Me debuted on the UK Albums Chart. 2009 was the year of Frankmusik. An accolade included him as the support act for Keane on their Perfect Symmetry tour in the UK. “It was amazing, I had a really great time experiencing a very well adapted live band, an arena band.” after a slight pause he adds “It really kind of threw me in the deep end of how to do a live show as a pop artist. I very quickly had to learn how to engage with an audience.”
He has since worked with the likes of Ellie Goulding and Sky Ferreira. His work with Ellie led to her realise just because she plays guitar she didn’t have to be a folk singer. He says “I really appreciate that, the most important thing is she got spotted. She is phenomenal, it’s a joy to see her do so well, I’m very proud of her. I get what she is doing, I always told her what would make her stand out is her song writing with cutting edge production. I wanted to make sure she got attention by a different audience. And now she played the royal wedding.” On working with Sky he muses “She was American so it was a different type all together” he says “We did a track together. She’s worked with some really big people and she is doing really well. She is all about her style and her brand is different. It was great working with her.”
His music has undergone a transition from when he started out. “I think it’s very hard for anyone to know what they are doing off the bat. Music was always a hobby so when I was releasing my early music, it was me simply finding my feet creatively; I got thrust into this kind of pop world very quickly and my feet never really touched the ground.” He says of his first foray. He adds, “This time round I kind of know what I’m doing, which is both a good thing and a bad thing…”
More recently he moved from London to Los Angeles. He changed record labels and lifestyles, he says of it, “My life varies so much; I moved to the other side of the world halfway through my good spot in England and started again. It was crazy.”
It was in Los Angeles that he and Cherrytree Record labelmates, Far East Movement worked together on ‘Do It In The AM’ the video for which recently surpassed 1 million views, “It’s great to get it out there. It was really good fun to shoot and was great to hang out with the guys.” He adds, “They have been good friends of mine for a long time; we actually met in London and I have featured on their album, ‘Album Free Wired’ I sing a song called Fighting for Air.” He has too taken to performing Rocketeer with the band on shows like Jay Leno, “The exposure was great” he says, “I had very big shoes to fill as it was originally written by Bruno Mars and performed by Ryan Tedder.” After I compliment on his vocal likeness to Tedder in the song he jokes “I was hoping you’d say I surpassed him.”
With his move to Los Angeles comes a new sound, something that is more commercial. He explains “I’m more concise and my music has got a future dance feel to it. Everything on the album is about my time in America; the main struggle was challenging myself but the new record is sounding a lot more polished, a lot more crazy. I am making solid pop music. With the production side of things, I’m trying to take people out of their comfort zone with pop music, in a more open manner.”
The album is called ‘Do It In the AM’ because that’s when it made it. He says simply “there is no secret meaning to it, it was made mostly at night and I find I work better at night. More people should try it. You don’t get distracted by things around you.” He laughingly drawls, “I like it.” and adds “with this album, I’m challenging not just myself but the listener as well; not so much through lyrics but through the whole package. Something like Lady Gaga; she challenges people with her persona and l’m trying to do something similar but different.”
He tells of the theme for ‘Do It In the AM.’ It is “the same shit. Just different
people. People annoying me, upsetting me, breaking hearts and stuff. All the good shit.” “And the musical inspiration for it?” I query. “None,” he explains “I am my own influence, I don’t pay attention to what surrounds me; I draw inspiration from random nuggets I find along the way…”
He is acutely aware of the hype that is surrounding the new release, “I wrote 72 songs and 12 made the album. I always want to make sure that I’m not shit and 72 songs later you realise you have tried everything you can and you’re not shit.” As for the songs that didn’t make the cut, “I’m leaving them alone, I don’t recycle stuff. Every track has it’s moment and has it’s place.”
I then throw the idea of an acoustic album as the last was stripped down and personal. He tells me, “I think it’s a healthy thing to do, people liked it the last
time.”
For all the pressure and expectations there is an also an outlet, Free Frankmusik, where Vincent posts remixes and songs for his fans, “I wanted to show people that I wasn’t just paid, I do it because I love it.” We both pause for a moment to express delight at his Daft Punk tribute; he sighs and adds “I wish it was on my album” But those free downloads and peeks inside his head continue? “They won’t really stop.” he says.
I enquire what is next for Frankmusik, He simply states, “I’m hoping to sell lots of albums and endorsing myself as a thoroughbred alternative pop artist.” He is also producing Erasure’s new album, which has been “amazing to do, and it‘s been a great opportunity for me.” And one can expect a UK tour and a couple of big shows soon which he promises “are going to be great fun.”
2011 is Frankmusik’s year and things are only bigger and better.
