American producer Franklyn Watts continues to impress us with his deep and fiery brand of house music following a new collaborative release with Dateless.
The Los Angeles-based house talent has already put his stamp on labels such as Dirtybird, Glasgow Underground, and CUFF in the past, and his new Corazón Partió single marks his debut on Dateless’ Thanks For Sending imprint.
We caught up with the American artist to ask him about the new track, how he approaches collaborative projects in the studio, what he thinks of the current club scene in L.A., and more. Get the full discussion below.
Hey Franklyn, we hope you’re good right now! Tell our readers what you have been up to this week?
I’ve been well, thanks! This week I’ve been finalizing some new music that’s scheduled to release in February. Aside from being glued to my studio desk, I’ve been spending time with my better half, binging a few shows.
You just released your ‘Corazón Partió’ collaboration with Dateless on his Thanks For Sending imprint, how did you two come to work together?
We’ve known each other from playing various festivals and shows in the past but now that we share some similar music direction and hang more often, it only made sense to work together on some projects. We will definitely continue working on more!
You’ve also collaborated with Kyle Watson, Jesse Bravo, and Gettoblaster, do you approach a collaboration any differently to a solo project?
I definitely approach a solo project different from a collab. When sharing ideas with anyone to collaborate on, I keep in mind that I have to leave room for their new elements in the track, but at the same time to not send them something boring. I also share something that fits their style. In a solo project I’m just letting my creativity flow until the track is finished as opposed to sending files back and forth for a collaboration, which usually takes more time.
Among your other releases you’ve put music out on Glasgow Underground, Rawsome, and Dirtybird, which other labels might we expect to see Franklyn Watts on in the near future?
First up in January I will have an EP on House Keepers Records, followed by an EP on Used Goods Records in February. There are a few others locked in which have no release date yet, but I’m excited for those.
You’re based out in Los Angeles, what’s your thoughts on the health of the LA club scene in 2021?
Well, still in the era of covid, I feel like the clubs are all coming back to life. Continuous shows all around but personally with all of the restrictions like vax cards and tests, it still doesn’t really feel the same being out. As far as musically I think Sound nightclub and Framework are bringing in some really proper house acts and hope to see more of that around the West Coast.
Which other LA based house acts would you recommend we check out?
All my fellas from Used Goods no doubt! Jesse Bravo, Ferra Black, Warren Blake. Can’t forget my boy Steady Rock and new friend DZR. Keep an eye on Dateless too.
It’s been quite the year for the music industry, with the pandemic causing clubs to constantly open and close for different periods of time, what’s one thing you learnt about yourself during the pandemic?
For sure one thing I didn’t realize is how much I NEED live music and live events. After a year of not going to any kind of show, my creativity was at an all time low with no inspiration from anywhere. My state of being was just somber. After my first gig back in Florida of all places during the pandemic, I was back to life.
And did you pick up any new skills while in lockdown?
Definitely got into grilling and cooking a lot more, I make some pretty FIRE Sriracha Honey BBQ Shrimp skewers haha.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer our questions, is there anything else you would like to mention before we go?
Many thanks to Inflyte for having me on! Excited to see whats to come in 2022.
Also if anyone likes listening to mixes, I release a monthly radio show on SoundCloud called WATTS GOOD. Guest mixes from friends and my favourite artists and all the sick new music that I find. Just a fun side project to keep me on my toes with current music!
Franklyn Watts – Corazón Partió EP is out now on Thanks For Sending.