Celebrating their musical diversity and coming-of-age as both people and artists, Franjapan are today releasing their highly-anticipated EP ‘Learning Futures’.
Combining sparks of indie-rock, 2000’s British influences and songwriting that dives deep into the throws of youth, Franjapan pull influences from Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender, Catfish & The Bottlemen, and The Wombats to put their unique touch on ‘Learning Futures’. Sticking to their self-driven ethos, the band recorded the EP at their own ‘Caveman Studios’, before lead singer and guitarist Spencer Ward combined with Cam Trewin (Rufus Du Sol, Pierce Brothers, Kingswood) for mixing as well as Grammy award-winning engineer William Bowden (The Living End, Haiku Hands, Gotye) for mastering.
Speaking of the EP, the band explained, “The EP ‘Learning Futures’ was written through 2022, between a hatful of songs we tried and tested, shelving the ones that didn’t resonate the most with us. We were collectively thrilled with the final five to make the EP, having played them at shows throughout the year and receiving some exciting responses from the crowd. The name itself came from our high school where we all met and found a shared love for music. ‘Learning Futures’ was the name of a mandatory class every year 8 student had to take, not sure it taught much about what a fourteen year old might expect for their future, though it’s a cool name.”
“We recorded the songs together in ‘Caveman Studios’ at Spencer’s home. This made the whole process a creatively rewarding experience where we all felt out how to make each song its best self. Having the time and space to experiment in our own studio allowed for some gems to be uncovered and further inspired the EP as a whole. Spencer went on to mix all the recorded components with some additional layering, finally coming to a head the day before he left on a month-long holiday. The band decided to bring in Cam Trewin who we previously worked with on a few singles last year to finish the mixing.”
Kicking off with singer Spencer Ward’s warm and enticing vocals, Franjapan’s EP ‘Learning Futures’ begins with shimmering guitars glistening over a grooving rhythm section in ‘Choo Choo’. ‘Lucy’ follows, allowing listeners to reminisce on nights spent with hazy eyes and fuzzy heads. ‘Rather Lay Awake’ is an emotive and haunting track, with it building as Spencer Ward’s musings progress, rounding out with soaring leadlines from guitarist Dennis Sehovic. ‘Showtime’ is a slam back into upbeat tempos and great vibes, with the lively rhythms and twangy guitars picking up the pace, before wrapping the EP with dancey and celebratory ‘Stonewall’.
Melbourne upstarts Franjapan have taken lunch-time jams and high-school friendships to new heights with a blistering 2022 that saw them land airplay across triple j for multiple releases, sell 300+ tickets to a Gasometer Hotel headliner and accumulate 100,000+ streams across DSP’s. Emerging into 2023 with their forthcoming EP, the quintet blend reverberating vocals with shimmering lead-lines to capitulate what is already a fevered following, into stratospheric fandom and beyond.
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