Celebrating their musical diversity and coming-of-age as both people & artist, Franjapan are today releasing their highly-anticipated EP ‘Learning Futures’.
Combining sparks of indie-rock, 2000’s British influences & songwriting that dives deep into the throws of youth, Franjapan pull influences from Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender, Catfish & The Bottlemen & 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 & 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.
Focus track ‘Awake On My Eyes’ sees Ward penning a mellow-ballad about the internal to-and-fro when deciding to end things with a long term partner.
Fighting with his gut & the decision, ‘Awake On My Eyes’ walks listeners through his life as he wrangles with what he knows he must do & the hesitancy in its finality. ‘Learning Futures’ is paired with previous singles; the shimmering & anthemic ‘Lucy’, alongside the dance-influenced and raucous ‘Stonewall’. ‘’Awake On My Eyes’, ‘Showtime’ & ‘Choo Choo’ round out the body of work, signifying Franjapan’s most cohesive extended release to date.
“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.” Franjapan
“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.” Franjapan
Focus track ‘Awake On My Eyes’ also sees an accompanying video for the melancholy track. Filmed in black & white, it follows singer Spencer Ward along a path by the sea, singing in reminiscent slow motion, whilst lyrics accompany the performance at the bottom of the screen, drawing attention to the intricacies and emotions behind the track.
Kicking off with singer Spencer Ward’s warm & 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 & 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 & great vibes, with the lively rhythms and twangy guitars picking up the pace, before wrapping the EP with dancey & celebratory ‘Stonewall’.
Melbourne upstarts Franjapan have taken lunch-time jams & 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 & 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 & beyond.
WIth an aptitude for encapsulating live performances and tongue-in-cheek banter, national accolades from triple j, triple j Unearthed, Beat Magazine, Triple R & more, Franjapan are more than ready to take their invigorated following & grow it across the country.
FRANJAPAN ‘Learning Futures’ EP RELEASE SHOW
Fri June 16th The Espy Melbourne
Franjafestw/Holly Hebe, Tough Break, Floozy, Mother Culture, Pretty Bleak, Spenser