Young Franco On His Debut Album: “It’s A Reflection Of Everything And Everyone That Has Shaped Me”

Young Franco has well and truly made a name for himself by now. Releasing his debut album, it’s Franky baby!, today, the Brisbane producer has already collaborated with the big dogs of the scene, including Denzel Curry and General Levy. 

The ten-strong LP takes listeners on a journey through Young Franco’s career - from his humble beginnings in Brisbane, to his international acclaim of today. The producer himself calls it “a reflection of everything and everyone that has shaped me – my influences, my friends, and the artists I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with. It blends the sounds and voices that inspire me, capturing the energy of the people I love and the creative journey we’ve shared. It’s a mix of the many genres I’m drawn to, fusing into one big pan”.

So, to celebrate the release of it’s Franky baby!, Young Franco is taking The Music through his debut album, track by track.

Wake Up feat. Master Peace

I started this track in Sydney with my friend Elliot from Delta Riggs and had a rough idea of what I wanted it to sound like. I was listening to a lot of punk at the time. It took a while to find the right feature, but when I went to the UK, I knew Master Peace would fit perfectly. We met on the first day and finished the record in two hours. It was fun to work on a punk-style track, something I've always wanted to do. I’m really happy with how it turned out. Special mention to Danio from Husky Loops for some added production too.

Daydreaming feat. Franc Moody

The Franc Moody boys and I had been chatting for a long time and always wanted to get in the studio. It never really lined up. And then I had a really good session with another producer named John Calvert, and from there, I just sent it to them, and they sent it back finished. I think for me, Daydreaming is more of a disco number. I’d been listening to a lot of classic disco and new Italian disco around that time and was inspired to channel that into this record.

Stunt Like This feat. Kah-Lo

Stunt Like This came about last December. I’ve always been a huge fan of Kah-Lo, and she’s incredible to work with—every song she releases is a hit. I had the opportunity to get in the studio with her last summer. One great thing about Australia is that many people from the northern hemisphere come here for the weather during the summer, so people are often in a really good mood. It was the perfect time to collaborate with her - we finished the track very quickly and easily. I hope we get to work together more in the future.

Fallin’ Apart feat. Denzel Curry & Pell

Fallin’ Apart was one of the first songs I put out from the album. It has a special place for me, because it was around Listen Out 2019, I got to work with Denzel Curry. I sort of had a couple tracks lying around, and had the privilege to get in with him on one of the off days of the Listen Out tour. And then we wrote this song, and we put it out late 2020, with Pell as another feature. It's really special to me because it was the major Apple sync with the Airpods campaign that came through around that time. It was also the first song I got on the FIFA sound track. So that was really special to me.

​​Goin’ On feat. piri & MC DT

I've always had a lot of respect for piri and tommy and all their records they put out. We worked together while I was in London. I was really inspired by all the UK garage sounds that I was listening to at the time, going out to shows, with a few late nights. piri is a very skilled writer and we sort of just banged out that song in a day and ended up getting MC DT on it afterwards and put it all together. Then we shot a fun video clip.

Lose Control feat. Earthgang

I had this beat lying around forever, and in this prolific summer period of 2023/24, there were so many cool artists that I wanted to work with who had come to town, and Earthgang was one of them. We worked out the time to get it in and made it happen. And I know those two boys really loved it in Australia. So it was super exciting to get in, and they just smashed it out super quick. It's sort of a representation of a lot of the older Young Franco catalogue. I think it ties well into a lot of the it’s Franky baby! songs. So I really wanted to make sure there was a song that kind of covered all the genres and styles that I like.

Sing It Back feat. P-rallel and Dana Williams 

Sing It Back is always a song I've wanted to put my own spin on, and is a song I play out regularly in my DJ sets. I’ve always been drawn to Y2k, early disco samples, French house dance music, so I wanted to do something like that. As a homage to that, I made the beat with P-rallel and someone I've worked with a lot, Dana Williams. By the time I flew over to LA, I had an idea of her singing that part, and it works perfectly with her vocals.

Give Thanks, Give Praise feat. General Levy and Tommy Villier

General Levy was in Australia, and I was following his page as a huge fan. I kept checking to see when he was touring next, and it turned out he was in Sydney in a couple of days. After reaching out, he came to the studio. Working with such a legend was a huge blessing—he's been a significant part of this genre and its growth. He was an absolute joy to work with and really delivered. Tommy Villier is an amazing producer; the song wouldn't exist without him. Working with him was fantastic, and I’d love to collaborate with him again.

Juice feat. Pell

This was a breakthrough song for me, setting me on my current path, and it’s an early song from this album, so I wanted to make sure it was included. Pell and I have toured around Australia together twice, and he's like a brother to me. Including that song on the album was really important, as it has changed both our lives.

Sunrise feat. Muroki  

Sunrise was always going to be the closing track of the album. Muroki is amazing. He loved the demo right away. It's sort of a bossa nova influence, and he's got such range. We really connected on that. We finished the track in a day and got to go to the beach after.

To celebrate the release of his debut album (out now), Young Franco is heading on tour. Find details below.

Young Franco ‘it’s Franky baby!’ Australian + US Tour Dates  

Saturday 15 February - Dream Valley, Brisbane

Sunday February 16 – St Kilda Festival, Melbourne

Saturday 22 February - Liberty Hall Courts, Sydney

Friday 28 February - The Fantail, Gluttony, Adelaide

Saturday 1 March - Port Beach Brewery, Fremantle

Friday 14 March – The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, California

Saturday 15 March – Monarch, San Francisco, California

Friday 21 March – ZeyZey, Miami, Florida

Saturday 22 March – House Of Yes, Brooklyn, New York

Find all touring and ticket information here.