Frankmusik has been incredibly busy lately: the British pop artist is in the midst of his first headlining U.S. tour and just released his third full-length album, “Between.” The singer-songwriter who has concert dates lined up through July 3, describes his new album as both “epic” and having “the sugary day madness I am known for.”
What better way to celebrate the new set’s arrival than by quizzing Frankmusik on his five favorite pop albums, as part of Pop Shop’s “Gimme Five” series? After all, aside from making pop tunes of his own, the artist has remixed everyone from Lady Gaga and Pet Shop Boys. Check out Frankmusik’s picks and explanations below:
1. Electric Light Orchestra – “Light Years: The Very Best of. . .”
Frankmusik: “Just SUCH great songs, and it was the album of my childhood that I always wanted to hear over and over again. In my opinion it’s the perfect album for driving through the United States. The production was totally ahead of its time, light years you could say… A blend of Beatles-esque song writing with the panache of Ziggy Stardust, but with string arrangements that would make Hans Zimmer blush.”
2. Daft Punk, “Homework”
“If it wasn’t for this album, I would never have made music. It just changed my life with its simplicity and ability to be utterly addictive after very few listens. It was so brash in its space. It was my first taste of what I felt I wanted to do. I used to listen to this album in the middle of the night with my eyes closed really tight so I had no distractions and I could hear every little thing they did.”
3. Whitney Houston – “The Bodyguard” Soundtrack
“I don’t care what anyone says — this is premium singing and songwriting that I think will be hard to match. I have very personal attachments to this album because I have some of my fondest childhood memories connected to it. To this day, I have not seen the film ‘The Bodyguard,’ as I didn’t want it to change my opinions in any way to how I feel about this album.”
4. Soulwax Presents, “Hang All DJ’s” (any of the volumes)
“17-year olds of today have Girl Talk. But I had “2 Many DJs.” Such fun and ridiculous mash-ups that I will always put on when I am wanting to tale my mind on a crazy adventure of nostalgia and Mac Voices vocal drops.”
5. Todd Edwards, “Full On Volume 1”
“Todd Edwards is the king of sampling. The first time I heard one of his tracks was on a ‘Pure Garage mixtape. I found most garage was awful, but Todd’s mellow and musical approach left me with such a lasting impression. He found the perfect balance between the complexity of his sampling and the simplicity of addition elements he fitted around the samples themselves from funky bass lines to shuffle beats that can only be achieved on some chunky MPC outboard. Though his music may seem repetitive on the surface, I find as a producer and fellow sampler that his sense of rhythm and choice of sampling is next to none.”
More Gimme Fives: NKOTB | Icona Pop | Olly Murs | Carly Rae Jepsen | Charli XCX