Exclusive Interview: Frankmusik Talks 'Real Fans' And Life As Independent Artist

Interesting is definitely a word we’d use to describe Frankmusik's musical journey. Despite releasing a single titled ‘Better Off As Two’, Frankmusik tells Mark Willis why he’s better off as one when it comes to him and his music!

The singer-songwriter, originally born Vincent James Turner, was previously signed to Island Records in the UK and Cherrytree Records in America but he’s now releasing music independently.

Frankmusik’s latest record ‘By Nicole’, which he describes as his ‘best album to date’, was released just last week and it rocketed straight to number one in the electronic UK iTunes charts.

The album might not have been supported by a record label but its success just goes to show how supportive and loyal Frankmusik’s fans are. Speaking about being an independent artist, he said: “An advantage is that the fans that I have are REAL fans. Not fly by night fans that only get involved because they had some commercial promotion rammed down their throats. My fans are the real deal and support the journey; not the self-conscious mediocrity of hype.”

Frankmusik does however understand that he’s lucky to have such a helpful group of talented friends and he realises that being an independent artist isn’t an ideal situation for some singers: “The independent route really isn’t for everyone. I have the ability to make music which helps me along so I don’t need labels for anything in regards to making or funding an album. But promotion money is of course non-existent, as are the radio connections.”

While Frankmusik’s more than happy to do things his own way, record labels definitely can help and definitely have helped some artists become worldwide superstars.

Atlantic Records was founded in 1947 and they've helped nurture and promote the talents of many singers and bands over the past 67 years. Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Paramore and Christina Perri are just four of the incredible acts that the record label has worked with recently.

We spoke to Ashley Townley, one of the publicity co-ordinators at Atlantic Records, to find out what she believed record labels offer artists. She said: “They’ll have more support for marketing promotion. They’ll have people already at the label that are in the specific areas to help them promote their record so they’ll have: a marketing team behind them, a promotions team and a press team. If they were independent, they’d have to do it all themselves.

“The press team will help get them into the press to help promote their single or album, the radio team will go with their radio contacts and help them get on the radio. So they have people with all those specific expertise working on that for them instead of them trying to do that just by themselves.”

Ashley works in the press department at Atlantic records and she explained that for her, proud moments are when some of her assigned artists get extensive and positive coverage in print and online publications: “It’s always great when we get some magazine covers, or if we get a session where we’ll get our artist to perform an acoustic track for a website.”

There is of course a significant difference between major record labels and independent record labels. Atlantic Records would classify as a major record label with extensive funding while independent labels are smaller record companies who allegedly give their singers more artistic freedom.



Independent artists release music in the industry with no backing from a record label whatsoever though, so how does Frankmusik do it exactly? This is where things get really interesting. We asked him to tell us briefly about the personal process he goes through when making a record and he explained:

“Have someone break your heart. Go to Paris to remind yourself that this world is a big place and you better get your arse in gear before any more time disappears. Call up a CD making company and sort out manufacturing. Call up my designer in New York to help with CD design and arrangement. Call up my creative director who looks after my image." 

"Call up my musical director to get me the best musicians in town to work with me. Then sleep on a studio floor for two months. Not turn your phone on for the whole of January. Smoke over 1000 menthol cigarettes and open the window on occasion. Keep your fans updated with the drama that has unfolded in making the album.”

So that’s how Frankmusik records his albums but what’s next after he’s laid down his vocals in the studio?

“Get it mixed in Liverpool Street. Get it mastered in Germany. Send the finished album off to my digital distributor in the US and to my CD manufacturer. Get the online shop ready. Buy 600 shiny pink envelopes and 200 sheets of address stickers. Take orders of physical CDs. Sort the orders out in that room that used to be a living room. Annoy the post office with having to post hundreds of CDs. Sit back and eat something. Occasionally sleep. Simple.”

I’m sure most of you will agree that it’s pretty impressive how much Frankmusik manages to do independently. Sleeping on the studio floor for two months just goes to show how dedicated he is to his music and pleasing his fans.

‘By Nicole’ isn't the first record that Frankmusik has recorded independently either. He also released ‘Between’, a double album featuring both upbeat and acoustic versions of some new tracks last year. We asked him if he feels it’s important to be as involved as he is with the creation of his records and music videos.

“I want to learn every aspect of my job. If everyone disappears tomorrow I want to know what I can do on my own. Learning is the key to my sanity. If other artists don’t want to get involved, I understand that but it’s in my nature to ask questions.”

One thing that’s remained consistent over Frankmusik’s career is his catchy electronic dance beats. As a record producer, he definitely knows what works and what doesn’t. He’s even released official remixes for high profile artists such as: Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse and the Pet Shop Boys. How would Frankmusik describe the sound of his new album ‘By Nicole’ though?

“This is a record that involved my closest friends and the best musical companions that I could find. I brought together the talents of many people to create what I feel is my best album to date. I wanted to make an album that sounded like nothing I had made before so I brought in live instruments. I never would have thought I would be recording trumpets and guitars on my records! But the musicians brought their own flavour and style that could never be recreated by programming it in a studio.

“The music I make is best described as electronic music with a pop sensibility. I try to avoid using sounds that I hear on the radio as I know that certain styles will soon sound dated which happens a lot in electronic and dance music.”



'By Nicole' features 15 tracks and fans who order physical copies of the record from Frankmusik’s official website will be treated to an exclusive bonus track which has never been heard before. For the collection, Frankmusik also collaborated with pop sensation Natasha Bedingfield on the song ‘Crash and Burn.’

“Natasha is and always has been a star. Bringing Natasha in was really by chance. We worked together in LA for a writing session and we wrote “Crash and Burn” in an evening. We sat on it for a long while and then I realized I wanted to have the song on the record. It was very different originally. It sounded like a jazz record!

“I changed up the whole sound and then Natasha came to my London Studio and absolutely destroyed the vocals. It was almost like a competitive duet. I found she really brought 100% to the table and that really comes across in the song.”

Music is obviously a massive part of Frankmusik’s life and when we asked what other hobbies and activities he enjoys when he’s not performing or recording, he joked ‘does drinking count?’ The 28 year old also told us that he’d probably be an architect if he wasn’t a singer-songwriter and producer.

Frankmusik is clearly a man of many opinions and it’s refreshing to see that he’s so down-to-earth and open about his experiences and views. A lot of celebrities keep quiet in fear of being controversial. Speaking seriously, Frankmusik revealed that celebrating the amazing work that scientists do would be the one thing he would change about the world if he could.

“I wish we would celebrate intelligence over stupidity. It’s not elitist, it’s just true. I would like to see the people that make our lives much more easy to live celebrated and revered instead of the total cr*p that ends up in front of us. Scientists should be the real celebrities.”

It’s a fair viewpoint that’s also shared by thousands of other people in the world. Some of the UK’s top earning scientists are paid an annual wage of £50,000 while in contrast to this; celebrities such as Adele have been paid an astonishing £22.5 million in just one year alone. We think it’s fair to say that the figures speak for themselves!

If Frankmusik chose to be an ambassador for a particular charity though, which one would it be and why? It turns out he has a passion for the environment and wishes more was done to save rainforests.

He said: “I would probably do something to help save rainforests. It breaks my heart when I see forests crushed and burned. Without nature we are in ruin yet all we do is try to remove ourselves from it.”

The World Land Trust is a UK-based charity which was established back in 1989. Its main aim is support environmental causes and over the years, they've saved over 500,000 acres of habitats worldwide. That’s an amazing achievement and it includes the protection of many rainforests. Sir David Attenborough is just one of the charity's famous patrons.

Frankmusik has already started work on his fifth album and once again, he’ll be releasing it independently. It seems there’s no stopping him and if his past two independent records are anything to go by, we’re sure it’s going to sound amazing.

If Frankmusik had one message to leave for his fans, he said that it would be: “Thank you for getting me to number one on the UK electronic iTunes charts you sexy people.”

For more information about how you can help the World Land Trust, visit their website here.

To order a physical copy of 'By Nicole', visit Frankmusik's official website here.