Where are you currently based?
I’m in a quiet suburban area in the Melbourne’s south-east. Nature is my biggest creative inspiration so in a perfect world I would live by the coast and/or lots of bushland.
How did you first start playing music?
As a reluctant yet talented child dragged by my mother to weekly piano lessons. I hated practicing but I loved music and even started composing and writing my own songs from about 9 years old.
What’s been happening recently?
In my little corner of the time-space continuum, I have been rehearsing lots with my band, recording and producing more new music and brainstorming how to film a music video which is set in a lounge room submerged in a swimming pool. Stay tuned!
Your latest single ‘Kitschy Coo’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
I wrote the song very quickly – or it wrote itself, as sometimes happens – after a late night watching a gig. Someone I idolised was up on stage and seeing them perform was a reality check for me as I realised they were nothing like I had imagined.
What does this track mean to you?
The track has grown in meaning over time and it’s sound has changed; it became groovier, more fun and light-hearted. I still have no clue why I started singing ‘kitschy kitschy coo’ for the choruses but it stuck! Now the song serves as a cheeky reminder to beware of unfounded infatuation with people you only know from a distance.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
I recorded ‘Kitschy Coo’ over the last year with Simon Rigoni from 2-Inch Tape at his Room 29 Studio. I think things took a long time because we were getting used to each other’s working process and figuring out the best way to produce the track.
How did you approach the recording process?
This song definitely took a journey to end up where it is now! We started with the basic guitar tracks and a scratch vocal and then added, added and added some more. At some point I felt I could hear some strings, especially through the bridge which needed a lush, majestic treatment. So I wrote parts for a 6-piece string ensemble and played them all myself. Other parts included congas, a 12-string guitar, multiple backing vocals, synths and organs.
Simon complained (probably justifiably so) a lot about the number of tracks – it made mixing somewhat challenging!
Any shows coming up?
Yes! On October 15th we’re doing a huge launch show at Shotkickers in Thornbury from 2pm. Crumbe are launching their debut album; 2-Inch Tape are launching the single ‘What I Need’; and Fawkner Walking Society are launching their single ‘Cheddar Road’. They’re calling it ‘the launch party to beat all launch parties’.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I love Eloise’s album Drunk on a Flight. The production and the song-writing as well as her voice and those keys are just divine. Also I’ve been roller-skating lately to a soundtrack of 1950s doo-wop swoon nuggets.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2023 going into 2024?
Launching ‘Kitschy Coo’ and the music video is my major milestone for this year and still an ongoing project. I’m planning to get out and be gigging more over the summer, solo, in my duo Duxie & Luxie, and with my band. I will also continue working on recording and production for the other songs I’ve got in the pipeline. And of course I will spend an inordinate amount of time at the beach and in a swimming pool.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
A perfectly cooked authentic Italian pasta with lots of oil, salt and cheese! Also, bubble tea.
Favourite hang-out is my secret underground roller-skating car park.
https://www.duxiefranklin.com/
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