Emmanuel Franco – Broken Man

By starrymag | September 8, 2020

By: Courtney Groom

 

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Jeff Buckley, John Mayer, Tallest Man On Earth, Drake, 50, John Prine, Stevie Wonder, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ed Sheeran, Justin Vernon/Bon Iver, Justin Bieber.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need the music before you can write the lyrics?

 

A) Most of the time I write music before lyrics. If lyrics do come before the music, they have to be edited quite a bit to fit cadence and the groove of the music. Most of my songwriting is when I’m drinking. I usually detox for about a month after a two to three month stretch of drinking and writing. I don’t have to drink to write but it’s more wholesome that way.

 

Q) Congratulations on your latest hit single “Broken Man” – what was the inspiration behind the song?

 

A) Thank you, but I wouldn’t say it’s a hit. Not even close. I wrote the song for my ex-girlfriend. I still write songs for her. It was a specific time in our relationship where we were separated by distance and fighting a lot. I resorted to sending letters by mail and decided that this one was better as a song.

 

Q) “Broken Man” explores the idea of having to let someone go that you don’t want to and is something I think a lot of people can relate to. What do you want your listeners to take away when listening to the single?

 

A) You basically hit it right on the head. I’m sure the majority of listeners will also take that away but if they take something else, that’s alright too. I don’t really think about my listeners in that way but maybe that will change. I’m just grateful for them and hope to meet them all out during shows one day.

 

Q) The music video for the single was just released – showcasing your daily life and hanging around with your friends. What made you decide to go for a more home-made style video rather than the traditional kind?

 

A) I wanted to show me and my life instead of a romance or heartbreak with a girl. I’m a broken man in the song, so that’s simply what I am in the video. I’m without her and every day I live with myself being broken.

 

Q) The video was also filmed with a vintage video camera with a grainy faded filter over to create such a beautiful video throughout. What made you want to film the video in this style?

 

A) Its beautiful, nostalgic. We shot some of the video as a duo and when my friend left back to LA, he left me his film camcorder. My dad and siblings filmed after that.

 

Q) As a songwriter, were there any challenges you faced when writing and recording “Broken Man?”

 

A) Not at all.

 

Q) Spotify in particular has really helped you recently with the success of “Broken Man” having been featured on the “New Music Fridays” list gaining over 200,000 streams. Spotify is still a particularly new way for people to listen and discover music. Now everything is mainly digital how important is it for you as an artist to have your music featured on platforms like this?

 

A) It’s extremely valuable to artists new and old. Playlisting can make or break a song and artist. I’m still learning how to navigate all of this, but I see it as a good thing. A new frontier for the new generations.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Morgan Wallen. Also, most of my friends that are songwriters. Corey Harper, Noah Kahan, Ryan McMullen. I’m also working with a DJ producer from Toronto named Dzeko right now.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans who have been supporting your music?

 

A) Thank you and thank you again. I’m glad you like what I’ve put out. I have so much more coming. Hopefully, we’ll be able to meet at some shows soon.