After seemingly endless teasing, the one and only Vincent Frank (AKA Frankmusik) finally unveiled the music video for stunning new single, “Map,” taken from his brand new EP, Far From Over, due tomorrow – Valentines Day. “Map” is a stunning piece of electropop in which Frank showcases all of his skills; that of a talented songwriter and producer and a truly gifted singer.
I’ve been following Frank’s career since the release of his 2009 debut album, Complete Me so when I learned that he was living in Los Angeles and working on his follow up, 2011’s Do It In The AM, I got excited about the prospect of a massive American introduction. Unfortunately, Do It In The AM flopped it’s way onto the charts, peaking at a devastating #178 on the UK Albums Chart, failing to chart in the U.S. at all. While promo from his former label (Island in the UK, Cherrytree/Interscope in the U.S.) likely had a lot to do with it, there was something lacking in the material on his latest LP. Something was missing. Something made Do It In The AM less enjoyable for me. Maybe it was overproduced. Maybe it was too commercial, in terms of collaborations and featured vocalists. I don’t know. Complete Me, it was not. Then, in October of 2011, Frank announced via Twitter that he had left his UK label.
While Frankmusik retired his stage name for a hot second, briefly going by the name Vincent Did It, he announced in March of 2012 that Frankmusik was in fact back. Since then he’s been turning out occasional demos and one-off tracks, the most recent being a gem called “Fast As I Can,” which was released independently through a distribution company called Tunecore. “Map,” is the first official release and a sign of fantastic things to come from this talented, young British artist. With “Map” I feel like we’re really getting a sense of who Vincent Frank is as a human being. Both the song and complementing video exude a certain vulnerability, counterbalanced of course by his confidence as an artist and strength as a vocalist. While the song does utilize a lot of technologically induced vocal manipulations, there’s no denying this guy can sing (listen to his 2009 acoustic set, Completely Me, if you don’t believe me). Listen to the way he effortlessly slips into that stunning falsetto of his – signature Frankmusik. Sensitive, heartfelt, human feelings are all too rarely displayed by popstars nowadays. With Frankmusik, what you see is what you get. According to the artist in a statement:
“I’ve got no money, no deal, no career plan. I’ve got nothing but my talent, my fans and the musik I want to make. And do you know what? It’s f**king exciting.”
You know what Frank? Go ahead and do you. If “you” is anything as brilliant as “Map” then I know I’ll be sticking around for the long haul. Check out the stunning video for “Map” BELOW and download the new EP, Far From Over starting tomorrow.
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