With so much new music floating around the interwebs, sometimes it’s hard to dig a little deeper and find out more about a promising artist.
That’s why The Profile is breaking it down for you. The Pitch takes care of the nitty gritty factual bits, The Plot serves as a Q & A with the artist, and The Plug is where you can go for more.
The Pitch
The seeds of Anton Franc were sown in 2010 when Josh Bowyer and Jamie Kuzich, two musicians from either side of the country, met far from home in the Kimberley region of Australia’s far North-West. Medical students at the time, they bonded in their sparse and isolated surroundings, writing and recording the songs that would become Anton Franc’s eponymous debut EP.
The Perth-based quartet have just officially released their second EP All This Talk, and celebrated by playing some shows.
The Plot
Hometown:
“I was born and raised in a working class suburb of Newcastle NSW, moved to Melbourne for a few years, travelled the world and ended up in Perth, WA where I currently reside. It’s climate and isolation fit me like an appropriately-sized glove.”
Influences:
Conviction, honesty, and the Roland 808.
Dream collaboration:
Frank Zappa + Mr. E + Bill Callahan. And me in the writing space observing the interactions first-hand.
Venue or festival you’d love to play:
Would love to play Woodford festival, or Perth International Arts Festival again (that was one of my favourite gigs) or Splendour. That would be pretty rad. Or Blues n Roots in Byron. Or Meredith.
First song you ever wrote:
I learnt early on how to channel sadness into song as a form of therapy. As an 8 year old, I witnessed my beloved dog Tiggy run-down by a train. I can still see her sprinting in front of the train along a shared trajectory. The horns are blaring. The train is slowing as much as it can, but still gaining on her. And there she is, in her beautiful naivety recognising the danger she is in but failing to acknowledge my advice to just change her direction by 5-10 degrees. Instead she chooses the impossible task of outrunning the train. Tongue bounding from side to side, ears back. She fails. I was devastated. Fortunately I knew a few chords and found myself strumming away on those 3 chords and before I knew it some words were springing out of my mouth in a simple melody about Tiggy. My first song. This discovery so early in my life has saved me thousands in psychiatrist fees.
Favourite local act:
“Don’t play favourites. Mainly because I don’t want to break the hearts of all the local artists in Perth who wake in the mornings each day and say to themselves “I hope today is the day that Josh from Anton Franc says that I am his favourite local act in a Tone Deaf interview.” So I’ll just say that I really like lots of artists in Perth. But one sticks in my mind for his honesty and feel good vibes from the record – SEAMS. Lyndon is the brainchild I think, and he plays with us sometimes, and he is just a genuinely good lad. He injects genuinely good energy into the world with everything he does.”
Tell us about your local:
My local café is delightful. A great place to people watch, think, read the paper, browse the knowledge stone and drink a coffee in the sun. If I wasn’t currently in a long-term relationship I would definitely take someone there on a first date. My local park is even more divine. With sprawling green fields, beautiful old oak trees, birdlife and a hive of community activity, it is a wonderful place to enjoy a Sunday afternoon in style with good company, wine, cheese and the odd game of Frisbee. Sigh.
The Plug
All This Talk is out now through Firestarter Distribution. Listen to the record below and keep up to date with Anton Franc’s live shows by liking them on Facebook here.
