David Franz Releases Debut Album as Solo Artist 'To The Unknown'

From a combination of scorching life events, social transformation, pandemic lockdown, and personal epiphany, Southern California musician, songwriter, producer, and label head David Franz has emerged, like a snake too big for its skin, from behind the producer's console to the front of the stage and has released his debut album as a solo artist "To The Unknown".

The 10-track album is steeped in modern production on a foundation of soul and blues. With sounds formed by the spirit of the high desert, the music conjures energies from both outlaws and shamans. Full of self-examination, self-help, and self-harm, the album puts us all to task to question our own self-talk, bias, and self-determination. It's a testament that personal growth is necessary for the greater good and that growth is not at all easy.

Self-reflection and desert-tinged sonics are a running theme throughout the record. Franz released three singles leading into the album. The first was "My Greatest Enemy".

The song is about our inner voice and how we have the choice to control it or have it control us. The past year's lockdown has forced us all to stare down, like gunslingers, our reflections in the mirror and deal with our own negative self-talk. With this song, Franz challenged us all to take back the power from our inner critic and change our internal narratives for the better.

The second single "Silver Arrow Sunday" that Psychedelic Baby described as "California desert rock with a shamanic outlaw vibe" is steeped in the ethereal and desolate haze of the desert heat. The deeply personal track was written through the lens of a desert mirage, and inspired by a dream about a temptress dressed in deep red, dancing fantastically in a wavery shamanic vision. Her boundless energy slowly pulls David from his tumultuous past and into a fleeting future. The path forward seems positive, even if the direction and the destination are out of focus. Change is never the perfect replica of what we envision it being, but can be beautiful in its mix of clarity and confusion.

Listen to the release here: