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"I keep getting told I'm really good at making people cry" says new electro-acoustic artists To Be Frank after a complimentary tweet from Radio One. "You've just got to go with it haven't you."
With a great, great grandfather taught by Chopin and musical references ranging from Abdullah Ibrahim to Prince, Frank is one deeply soulful character.
Having been compared to the likes of Radiohead and James Blake, the mix of acoustic and electronic elements creates a sombre, melancholic pop sound on his new EP Nothing, which is out now. The man responsible for this new project is Suffolk-based producer Frank Pescod, who is already making friends in high places, with Lauren Laverne playing one of his tracks as her Headphone Moment on her 6Music radio show.
Listen to the Nothing EP in full below
While To Be Frank may be new to the scene, but Pescod is no newcomer to the music industry. From promoting to managing other artists he has a wealth of experience - and skills. "I'm a producer, I'm an artist, I'm a song writer and I'm an instrumentalist," he tells Gigwise. "They're all just names aren't they?" A huge fan of all genres spanning from anything from soul to motown, his dream collaborator would be Prince. "I'd quite like to do a duet with him" Pescod says. "How can you not like Prince?"
"I've got so many songs, we're constantly looking at different options on how to release things", says Pescod on the decision of releasing an EP instead of following a traditional singles and album format. "I think the industry is at a time where perhaps people are listening more to songs, so I think there are opportunities to not stick to a certain formula. That said I probably will do an album but I don't think there’s any hurry. I'm enjoying doing different releases and compiling songs for that."
To Be Frank's Nothing EP is out now (and is very good)
Self-releasing on his own music label provides the freedom of time, allowing the four EP tracks to be meticulously curated. Ranging from electronic to acoustic soul music, the Nothing EP free from genre, as Pescod adds, "I'm not big on genre. For me music is all about feel, I make music because it feels right".
This genre defying experimentation provides To Be Frank and opportunity to prove himself as more than another run-of-the-mill producer - and is keen to prove himself far more versatile. "Whenever you're marketing yourself to an industry there will always be people who think you're this and that," he adds. "That’s why with the EP we put an acoustic guitar song on there so people didn’t think it was just one type of thing. So hopefully we've got that across, its different crossovers".
To Be Frank's Nothing EP is out now.
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