Frankmusik sets out on first Headlining US Tour

Frankmusik, one of my former guests for interview and an old favorite as an artist, is setting out on 20 date tour across the US this June as headliner.  This is FM's first tour as a headliner in the US, so we'll get to see a full set of Frankmusik tracks, from his first record to the latest, Between, coming out this summer.  If "summer" is too vague for you, check out "Chasing Shadows" on May 9th, the new single.

FM is an incredible live performer, and his shows are always a ton of fun-- you can tell the man loves to sing.  I highly recommend checking out the show in your nearest city.  For more information or to check back for more dates, visit his website.  To hear his newest tracks, check out his SoundCloud.

Frankmusik - Fast As I Can Music Video

Frankmusik's been hiding out quite a bit from the spotlight since the release of Do It In The AM, producing for others instead, but he's finally stepped out to the spotlight again with his new track "Fast As I Can", which he released a couple weeks back.  Yesterday, he premiered his new video for the track.  I think this song is a true return to form for FM, and it reminds me of the Complete Me days a bit-- and that's my favorite Frankmusik.  The video features FM running around to meet a woman on a beach, and in true American fashion, he grabs what seems to be a Big Mac out of her hand.  Not kidding here, folks.  Check out the awesome video, and be sure to grab the track on iTunes.

New Music/ Submissions

Here's some recent fresh tunage for you all.  Up first is Starsmith, who's got a recent rocking St. Lucia Remix.  We have a couple of recent newcomers called the The Name and Darren Borg, who will satisfy your synthy desires.  An awesome remix by VDI, formerly Frankmusik, of Simon Curtis, which gets out that inner chip-tune 80s child.  Another great remix by RAC, and finally, a beautiful piano improvisation by Shook.

Frankmusik Interview: On Do It In The A.M., Erasure, and the perfect Pop Record

Frankmusik is a really exciting artist for me to be able to interview.  His music helped kick start my initial interest in electronic music and the 80s revival.  His track "3 Little Words" off his record Complete Me, along with its awesome retro-feel video was the start of my own personal music evolution.  Not only was "3 Little Words" great, but the rest of the record was an awesome collection of beautifully mixed vintage and new elements, as it featured old-school chip tune style sounds, as well as borderline show-tune piano all expertly crafted. To this date, Frankmusik has inspired many, but no one else has come close to his unique style of beautiful vocals over warm synths, catchy hooks, and classic piano.

Of course, when I heard FM had moved to L.A. for his next record (if I recall correctly, I remember him tweeting in 2009 how if Complete Me wasn't a hit, he wanted to move to L.A. and make a pop record) I was a little concerned.  In my opinion, he'd have to change drastically for US radio.  Was the singer selling out?  My concerns grew when his collaborations with Far East Movement, who are very much in the rap/pop realm of the US currently, landed him on Jimmy Kimmel Live.  Was FM trying to be the next US pop star? Would he trade his awesome original niche for a taste of some stateside fame and boring electropop?  I voiced these concerns via Twitter and that's when FM first got in contact with me.

A little over a month ago, I chatted with Frankmusik about his new record, Do It In The A.M., but didn't get enough information at the time for a proper interview.  After seeing him in Philadelphia, he promised to finish up some follow up questions I had sent him via email.  The first set below are from our chat over Skype, and the second half is from our email correspondance.  I've edited the Skype chat a bit to make it more readable and taken out some dialogue, but there was no edits to the words.  Enjoy!

Frankmusik Live at the Theater of the Living Arts, Sept 8th 2011

It's been just about 2 years since I last saw Frankmusik live-- the first time FM played as a last minute guest for the Perez Hilton tour and opened the show for 3 other artists.  At that time, Complete Me, his first record, had only been out for a month or so.  The performance was a stellar track by track type set, featuring some beat-boxing.  Much has changed since that show.  FM now lives in LA, and has his upcoming sophomore release Do It In The A.M.. So how did last night's performance compare to 2009's?  

Who got you into synthesizers?

For me, it was probably Frankmusik. Awesome track.