#kam franklin
One week before election day, Tues 10/27, I’ll be hosting a FREE virtual rally & livestream concert featuring 20+ acts from all around the south.
Years ago, I had a vision to create and curate a music festival that served as an opportunity to launch more independent artists, more women, and more southern artists of color. I would have no limitations to the genre, and I’d work with artists looking to grow and change the world together through the power of music. In a world where most of the stages are closed, where are young artists supposed to cut their teeth? Instead of waiting for it to show up, I created my own. This event will also serve as an opportunity to encourage people to get out and vote. We will have ways for viewers to check their voting status and polling location in between sets, thanks to our friends at @headcountorg .
RSVP and get to know the artists at MusikHouston.com
The livestream event is free to the public and will feature performances from artists, bands, and poets representing cities across the southern region. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Raices Texas and Shape Community Center.
Thank you to all of the artists for joining us for this event:
@a.j.haynes (Shreveport, LA)
@funkybigsam (New Orleans, LA)
@demrootsmusic (Galveston, TX)
@devongilfillian (Nashville, TN)
@djshante (Houston, TX)
@eph.see (Northeastern University)
@parliamentfunkadelliot (Houston, TX)
@fattonyrap (Houston, TX)
@giochamba (Houston, TX)
@jackievenson (Austin, TX)
@joshua_asante (Little Rock, AR)
@lisaeverything (Houston, TX)
@makingmadeline (Houston, TX)
#mamaduke (Austin, TX)
@mobleywho (Austin, TX)
@nicoleatkins (Nashville, TN)
@Peyton (Houston, TX)
@rashiphop (Austin, TX)
@sanahroy (Northeastern University)
@saxkixave (New Orleans, LA)
@spicyindian (Dallas, TX)
@sugarjoiko (Houston, TX)
@_susancarol (Houston, TX)
@thesuffers (Houston, TX)
@tiarragirlband (Austin, TX)
@uncle.tino (Houston, TX)
THANK YOU TO MY TEAM:
@musikhouston
@kollectivemedia
@kymeyertunedin
@narciso_palma
I produced an EP that dropped today called “Bayou City Comeback Chorus”.
‘Bayou City Comeback Chorus’ is a social justice album and short film featuring the voices and musicianship of many different artists from and around the Houston area. The music is influenced by psychedelic funk, gospel, and jazz. It was written with the intent to connect and inspire.
In early 2020, singer/producer Kam Franklin hosted a public jam to connect local artists and audition vocalists and musicians for the initial version of the project (a live record featuring a choir made up of marginalized voices from around the community). She did this not knowing it would be her final public event and opportunity to do so due to Covid-19 shutting everything down. This documentary covers the year following the initial jam session, the struggle to record the album in quarantine, interviews with some of the singers and contributors to the record, and the final result of all that hard work, despite the many obstacles.
The album features appearances from Dende, Uncle Tino, Sugar Joiko, Lilly Aviana, Z'maji, Nick Connors, Ryan Ramirez. It was mastered by Chris Longwood (Khruangbin) and mixed by Raymond Auzenne (Mannie Fresh), and edited by Nick Zamora (The Suffers). All songs were written, arranged and produced by Kam Franklin (The Suffers/Azraq). This project was partially funded by the Houston Arts Alliance.
I had the absolute honor of producing these songs for some of my favorite up and coming singers around the Houston area. All of them are incredible solo performers in their own right, and I am grateful to them for allowing me to share their voices in a whole new way.
Working on this EP has brought me a level of creative joy and release that cannot fully be described. Initially, I just wanted a way to share these songs to the masses in hope that they might bring someone else comfort. The initial idea for “Be The Light” was written after the death of Atatiana Jefferson. Her death haunted me for months, and writing this song served as a therapy for me. I wanted people to know what it felt like to be a black person, terrified to sleep at night because of what the police might do. And while it may have been easy for me to focus the entire project on trauma, I refused to do that. I instead chose to focus the remaining 3 songs (‘Stronger Together’, ‘Bring It On’, and ‘We Can All Be Free’) on the EP around healing, possible solutions to fixing the problems we collectively endure as a society, and pathways to personal freedom and unity. We as people deserve healing, and it starts by claiming it.
Songs:
Be The Light featuring Nick Connors:
Stronger Together featuring Dende
Bring It On featuring Z’Maji
We Can All Be Free featuring Sugar Joiko and Lilly Aviana
Album Credits listed below
Vocalists:
Sugar Joiko - Vocals, keys, synths
Z’Maji Glamouratti - Vocals
Ryan Ramirez - Vocals
Uncle Tino - Vocals/ Talk Box
Lilly Aviana - Vocals
Dende - Vocals
Nick Connors - Vocals
Kam Franklin - Vocals
Musicians:
Sugar Joiko - Keys and synths
Juliet Terrill - Bass
Nick Zamora - Drums
Jon Durbin - Trumpet
Michael Razo - Trombone
Jose “Chapy” Luna - Percussion
Kevin Bernier -Guitar
Kam Franklin - synths
Recorded by
Ryan Chavez, Joi Keeling, Kam Franklin,
Juliet Terrill, Andrew Sanchez, Ryan Ramirez, and Jacob Rodriguez
Edited by Nick Zamora
Mixed by Raymond Auzenne
Mastered by Chris Longwood
All songs written, arranged, and produced by Kam Franklin
Album Cover Art Photo by Troy Montes
Post link
Earlier this week, I dropped a new single called, ‘Don’t Get Caught Sick’. Check it out and share with a bud.
“Don’t Get Caught Sick In America” can mean many things to different people, but this song was inspired by the high insurance bills that come with getting sick in the land of the…free.
A few years back, I found myself enraged after reading a few articles about multiple diabetic Americans dying from not being able to afford insulin. Not much has changed, and the prices of the hospital bills and medication are only getting higher.
Almost three years ago, my friend and frequent collaborator, Nick Zamora (longtime drummer and co-writer for The Suffers), sent me this chord progression via text that I found equal parts eerie and beautiful. He had recorded himself messing around on this toy instrument that currently lives in a public park in Salt Lake City, Utah. Back in Houston, I was immediately drawn in by what Nick had sent, down to the voices of his son and the other children playing in the background. It took me a few tries to figure out exactly what I wanted to say, but once I was in the zone, I just sang the truth and released the frustration I was feeling into the microphone.
The cover photo was taken by Cedric Jones at Harvest Hands Community Development in Nashville, TN.
What you hear on this, is the first take. Everything I tried after, just didn’t feel as authentic. The song is meant to be a warning, but at times it feels like a threat, or even a promise. There is a tinge of hope at the end of it that was inspired by the voices of the children. “Joy is on the way, I know it”.
Stream the song here or watch the lyric video above. Thank you ❤️
I loved this photo series @cedrickphoto took of me soooo much that I decided to make it the cover art for my upcoming single, ‘Don’t Get Caught Sick’. The song drops 11/1, and I’ll be celebrating!
More details to come but until then, you can preorder the song here: https://orcd.co/aog4yp9
Two days until@thesuffers virtual concert and cover show. We’re calling it “Darlings”, and we hope you join us. This is a little bit of “Chamber of Reflection” (Mac DeMarco cover).
Tickets available at www.Noonchorus.com/the-suffers
