It’s been a while since we’ve seen Franks Got the Funk (FGTF) on a Chennai stage. It’s probably because the members been busy working on their new single, Corvus, which is set for an online release later this month. “Our new single is about a crow,” says vocalist Bjorn, with impact. A crow? “A crow,” he answers triumphantly, exuding the laid back sense of randomness that the band is famous for.
Having started when they were in college a few years ago, the band is now made up of Bjorn Surrao (vocals and guitar), Sajith Satya (bass), Vikram Ashok (keys), Shashank Vijay (drums and percussion) and Merwyn Christopher (guitar). For a college band that started out in 2009 and won the likes of Saarang (IIT), Strawberry Fields (NLS), it has been quite a ride for FGTF. Most recently, the band made it to the top 20 of Hard Rock Rising, an international contest where they competed with bands from 86 cities.
Though the ‘funk’ in its name is a dead giveaway to the music they play, the band that began as a ‘no-electric’ bunch has evolved. Blues, jazz, shades of hard rock and the quintessential funk find their place in FGTF’s rather random chest of songs.
Coming back to the story behind the song, “It’s kind of weird,” Bjorn recalls, “I was sitting on my terrace at 4 am one day.” This is where he writes a lot of the band’s lyrics. “And I saw a single crow staring at me from a pole.” In a few minutes, there were over 50 crows circling the area, and he says, “I panicked a little. I didn’t know what was happening!”
Though the crow mystery hasn’t been solved yet, it inspired a song. It is steeped in a story from Greek mythology. No spoilers here except we’ll let on that the crow in the story is rather special, it’s silver.
So are there any more birds in the songs planned for their extended play (EP), slated for November? “No, but there is a love song,” laughs Sajith. This is a first for FGTF. “We’re planning a five-city tour soon, once the EP is ready.”