Franco’s Pain is a life project. The lyrics are just some very honest thoughts and feelings that I have, and I think that a lot of people share those certain thoughts and feelings in a similar, yet different way. When they listen, they can apply my lyrics to their situations. As for the differences? The differences between the two are significant. Whilst Franco’s Pain is an outward, energetic and made-up character of mine, Zion is very settled and quiet – I’m studying computer science full-time at the moment. The two are always struggling to see who’ll last longer.

Franco is the first name of the alter ego and Pain is the last name. It stands for emotion.

Until 2017, music was never really a thing I wanted to do seriously. I listened to a lot of music growing up but never had an interest in making it myself, especially because I didn’t know how to play any instruments. It was when I went abroad for a while in 2017 that I decided I wanted to start. When I got back to Frankfurt, I immediately taught myself to play the bass and the guitar from scratch. Straightaway I recorded my first EP, Francos Pain. I literally recorded all day and night.

I was born in Berlin and moved around within Germany for a couple of years. It was in 2007, when I moved to the United States, that I lived in Texas and New York for about six years altogether. Frankfurt has now been my home for five or six years. I think these places have formed me into the person I am today in many different ways. Moving places that often gave me a certain skill of adapting.

I think it fits quite well, especially because the playlist entails different genres and artists. Franco’s Pain fits well in a diverse label. Bedroom pop is a good description of how the songs are recorded, but personally, I think Franco’s Pain is more than that too.

I recorded the album from the end of 2019 to mid-July, which was a difficult time for me. Studying and being a musician isn’t an easy job at times. Then, the whole situation intensified quite a bit with coronavirus. The album feels like a homage to that time in some way. Realizing there’s not much that you can do except weather the hard times and never forget to be youthful.
We got the chance to mix and edit at Abbey Road Studios Frankfurt, which offered us better equipment than I usually have in my room at home. I also had a bit of help when it came to the technical part. A good friend of mine, Janek Hruschka, helped me a lot with the album and became my studio engineer, which I have never had before. So there were a couple of things that were different with this release, but at its core I think it’s still Franco’s Pain. Just a bit more evolved than my first two releases.

A lot of the songs talk about a past relationship that I had that ended not too long ago. Tokyo is more of a dream. I’ve never been to Japan, but it’s definitely a place I really want to visit. But for now, it’s more of a scenario in my head.

I’m definitely a big fan of King Krule, Mac DeMarco, Connan Mockasin and Tyler, the Creator, to name a few. But it’s very diverse. While I love indie acts, I also have a love for hip-hop acts like MF Doom and Madlib. Sometimes I even listen to classical acts such as Erik Satie, or experimental artists such as Yves Tumor. Joy Division and Josef K are also on top of the list. All these acts have something in common: they have their unique sound and feel, and that’s what draws me to them. They inspired me to start my personal project.

The band is made of five of my best friends. There has been trouble though, to be honest. We were planning on doing our first tour this summer but things have been thrown around so much and have basically just slowed down the process. But the situation has opened new doors and possibilities too. In a way, we just have to ride the wave and keep on working around the situation. Not being able to play in front of people definitely is a bit frustrating because that’s really the only way to see your fans and create that magical bond.

I’m on a farm in the mountains of Alsace, in France, right now, just recuperating my energy and thoughts. I took all my recording gear with me and have been recording ever since the album dropped. I definitely like to take my time though, so we’ll have to wait a while until another full-length tape will drop. But I will have some stuff coming out soon.