Joey Da Rin – better known as Young Franco – has been mixing and producing his own beats for just over two years, and in true representation of his generation, the 19 year-old DJ/ producer has released everything he has made for free.
“It's a different ball game now. Rather than buying an album every time it comes out, it’s more EPs and singles and a few random tracks on Soundcloud, because that's the way it's going; that's the way it has got because of the internet; you can reach hundreds of thousands of people potentially instantly.”
Being a product of the digital age the young James Franco doppelganger truly understands the people and what it’s like to be a consumer of music in the digital age. Perhaps that’s what can explain his prolific rise through the Brisbane underground. ‘Cause for Da Rin, it isn’t all about the dollar signs at the end of his name.
Instead, it’s about the freedom the music and the internet can give to the creator and the consumer. “I love it because it gives an opportunity for someone like me, who's a student who doesn't have any kind of record deal or major label, to have the freedom and reach to do whatever I want. “The internet has given music the capacity to just blow up. It's different to what things used to be, but it's better. It's more Gen Y orientated.”
And Young Franco is quickly becoming the Gen Y DJ poster boy, at least in Brisbane. “I literally just got off the plane, I just flew here from Brisbane and I play in Perth tonight,” he says to from the tarmac.
It’s not often a 19 year old fresh faced engineering student will be flown around the country – on someone else’s dollar, mind you – and play to a packed warehouse full of faces, but Young Franco is the exception. After only two years in the game Young Franco has already played Splendor In The Grass, supported Alison Wonderland on her recent run of warehouse shows and was most recently announced as part of the Stranded Festival at Stradbroke Island and Valley Fiesta in his hometown of Brisbane this weekend. “I was literally just writing music and I enjoyed it and I put music out that I loved,” Da Rin says about the opportunity to be making music for a living at such a young age.
“I'm not trying to take myself seriously; I just enjoy writing music and that's the basis of it and I just enjoy sharing what I've made, that's all it is. Obviously one day there will be paid releases and once I decide that I want to have a paid release, but I'll still throw out free stuff because that's just the way I like to share music, for free.
“I love to download music that's free and I'd rather 10,000 people download my music than only 100 people buy it. I look at it that way; it's more of a reach and it's more sharing what I've made rather than trying to charge someone to see it or hear it.”
The debate on whether music should be free or paid for is heavily contested, and when bands like Radiohead put out albums for free it makes you wonder how young talent like Young Franco survive. It’s simple: solid beats, seamless transitions, chilled vibes and an artist who is happy to reach an audience rather than his wallet.
The mysterious Young Franco is playing Brisbane’s own Valley Fiesta for the second year in a row, but this year you can count on seeing a whole different Franco. “I played last year ... I had only just started to release music so it was a bit of a friend gig,” he says about last year’s performance.
“Hopefully this year, being on the poster, having a good spot and being surrounded by Motez and Allday and Butcher and Remi will translate to a really awesome set. It's really cool to be on the bill and hopefully people will be excited to see a Franco show.”
Written by Benjamin Pratt
Young Franco Tour Dates
Sat Aug 23 - Valley Fiesta (Brisbane)Sat Sep 6 - Flinders Social (Townsville)
Sat Sep 13 - Smirnoff Snowdome (Thredbo)
Sat Sep 20 - Factory (Sunshine Coast)
Sun Sep 21 - Stranded (Stradbroke Island)
Thu Sep 25 - Baker St (Gosford)
Fri Sep 26 - Small Ballroom (Newcastle)
Sat Sep 27 - Carmen’s (Miranda)
Sat Oct 4 - Anyway (Melbourne)
Fri Oct 10 - Zhivago (Adelaide)
