English punk/folk singer/songwriter Frank Turner is a man at peace with himself and his music.
Not that he has had a sudden epiphany that washed over the daily trials and tribulations of everyday life, but more a peace borne out of contentment.
Following his first UK#1 album FTHC in 2022, Turner made the bold decision to step away from the major label world of music and the relative safety blanket it provides to embrace the freedom and liberation of working as an independent artist.
“Either it’s complete genuis or it’s complete bullshit, and it’s my fault either way.”
Frank Turner
It was a move that invariably has its pros and cons, but when you are as recognizable musically as Turner is, the advantages of being independent far outweigh the drawbacks.
His first album since unbinding himself from the industry is aptly named Undefeated and sees Turner producing his own album for the first time and able to have total creative freedom. The result is an eclectic assortment of styles and genres, all tackled with an unflappable and flexible attitude that only inner happiness can provide.
Sonically switching from Black Flag to Counting Crows and from Descendents to The Pogues via Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg, Undefeated is more than a body of music.
It is a statement and expression of artistic freedom from an artist who has felt somewhat stiffled by an industry that rewards figures rather than merit.
With Undefeated slated for a May 3 release, HEAVY caught up with Turner at the start of his promotional campaign to find out more, starting with if he still gets nervous before each album is released.
“Yeah, of course,” he smiled. “I think there’s a funny inbuilt thing in the way that what I do works. I’ll spend two years writing, rehearsing, arranging, recording, mixing an album that comes in at 44 minutes and people listen to it in 44 minutes. Sometimes people go ‘that’s alright’, but that’s two years of my life (laughs). It’s the tenth time around, so I’m used to that on some levels, but yeah, I’m still nervous. I’m also pretty confident about this record. I think it’s a banger, shall we say. I feel like on my last album FTHC I kind of got my mojo back a bit and hit my stride again. I feel with this record on the other side of the pandemic and I’ve got my new drummer in the band, first time recording with him… And it’s the first time producing myself. First time on the other side of the universal label world kind of thing. Just the whole thing feels like a bit of a reset and it’s nice. I’m excited about it.”
In the full interview, Frank talks more about Undefeated musically, how he handles the period between finishing an album and having it released, the singles released so far and how they represent the album, how stepping away from major labels helped shape Undefeated, the mixing of styles and how he makes it work, the temptation to rehash a winning album formula with the next release, touring plans and more.
