Spotify’s New Music Fridays have been a main source for discovering new talent since it began.
Videos by American Songwriter
And that’s where pop auteur Emmanuel Franco was found as his latest single “Broken Man” gained over 100,000 streams and counting on the site since it was released in late April, thanks to the mellow gold of the Los Angeles-based artist’s distinctive sound. It’s a feel that has surely appealed to younger fans weaned on Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi and their John Mayer loving parents alike.
“John Mayer had a big influence on me when I was a kid,” Franco tells American Songwriter. “He’s managed to become a great songwriter and musician. Both very important for a great record to be made. By the time he released Continuum he was punching at the weight of a master and that was the time I needed him most. Then I came across Jeff Buckley. He’s in the room with me when I play his records. He’s alive in his guitar and voice and it baffles me every time. Jeff Buckley.”
Being a part of the Winston House, a veritable Umbrella Academy of creative young musicians from the Venice Beach area of which he was an original member, has also played a key role in the development of the style he flexes on “Broken Man.”
“I wanted to give my girlfriend at the time something genuine and something I couldn’t get across with just words,” he explains. “A song seemed to be the only thing to capture how I really felt back then. So I wrote ‘Broken Man’ on the top floor in the green room of Winston House over a couple of days. Venice has a lot of powerful vibes that I can tap into, that’s why I live there. I recorded a couple of years later at my friend’s home studio in Sherman Oaks. The studio was decorated like a jungle and the vocal booth was a massive tree with a door in it. I’ve recorded almost two projects in that studio. I’m excited to share it.”
Born in Dallas, raised in Washington State, and honed his craft while he climbed coconut trees and speared fish, Franco allows his life experiences to color in the lines of his lyricism as he does on “Broken Man,” the video of which American Songwriter is happy to premiere today. It is also his hope that his growing exposure on Spotify and Instagram will continue to bring recognition to The Winston House, who has worked with such household names as Aluna George, Billie Eilish, Este Haim and Justin Bieber in recent years, as he plots a post-COVID touring schedule, itching to get back on the road and play in front of audiences.
“I want to tour hard for a few years,” he tells American Songwriter when asked about his ambitions for the future. “Obviously I want a few periods in that time to finish more albums but I’m always writing anyway. I can definitely do that on the road. I have a few other business ventures I’ll be working on and I’ll be starting new ones. One, in particular, is Winston House in Venice, CA. Once a group of broke boys from the Pacific Northwest, and now a real venue/bar/restaurant right on the boardwalk under the Venice sign. If you’re curious check out our Instagram or website. We have a vast amount of photo and video content recorded from the beginning. From Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber performing to charity events with up to 100k people attending. Winston House is a big part of my life and inspiration.”
