Exciting news this week from the John Orr Franklin Camp!!

The “Japan Limited Edition” compilation album entitled “Perception” is currently in process of being distributed digitally in Japan! The album is being distributed in the Chaku-Uta™ Full format to cell based music outlets in Japan only.

Chaku-Uta is a special music file format compatible with traditional mobile phones (known as keitai in Japanese). They are typically purchased and downloaded via the mobile carrier network. A Chaku-Uta can only be used (technically and legally speaking) on the mobile phone to which it was downloaded. Chaku-Uta is a registered trademark of Sony Music Entertainment. The sales, technology and distribution of Chaku-Uta is highly regulated in Japan by the major phone carriers, record labels and rights administrators.

Smart phones, especially the iPhone, are becoming popular in Japan. However, smart phones only represent about 6% of all mobile phone contracts in Japan. The majority of mobile contracts are for traditional keitai mobile phones, about 100 million, whereas mobile contracts for smart phones are about 6 million, but growing in share. You can see why 90% of all digital music sales are sales of the Chaku-Uta format which is used with traditional keitai mobile phones, not smart phones.

The compilation album “Perception” contains material from all three of John Orr Franklin’s USA releases and also features three songs from the forthcoming “Soldier On” concept album, two of which that have yet to be released here in the states. Also included are two remixes from the “Pathways” album that have never been available on an official release.

A version of “Perception” will be released at some time in the future (potentially late 2012) in the USA but will feature different artwork and a slightly different track list. To view a detailed track list of the release, check out this special webpage further detailing the Japan Limited Edition version of “Perception”.

The current single being pitched to Japanese radio and other promotional outlets is the song “Alpha and Omega”, from the forthcoming “Soldier On” concept album. Also the song “Love Light Alive” has been made available as a free download from the johnorrfranklinband.jp website, a mobile enhanced website specifically designed for mobile devices that can also be viewed by scanning the QRcode above with your smart phone. A webstore has been created on the TopMusic.jp website in Japan where all of John’s CD’s and DVD’s can be purchased directly from Blue Room Digital Productions in Austin, Texas.

I’m truly excited about this new venture into the musical markets of Japan and Ihope that the music is well received and finds a welcoming home on the island of Japan.

Domo Arigato everyone!

A Time for Reflection
I’m thrilled to announce the release of our first ever LIVE DVD! How cool is that?! I am SO PROUD of this product and the work that it represents! It really feels as if, with the release of this video, I’m closing out the first chapter on this adventure in music. What’s coming next is always a mystery but one thing is for sure, the times they are a changing and a new era and a new way of doing things is imminent. It’s time to turn the page and to quote one of my songs from an album that’s still in the works, Soldier On.

This DVD truly represents many years of hard work, determination and perseverance. It hasn’t been an easy journey to get here and I have certainly learned allot about myself, about my music and a great deal about the business that is the ever-changing music industry along the way. One thing is for sure, I would not still be doing this if I did not love what I was doing. So calling it a labor of love, well yeah, that would be the perfect description.

Years, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes & Seconds
When I sat down in my living room to screen this DVD outside of my studio for the first time, it truly began to dawn on me just how much work went into this thing. They say baby steps will get you to your larger goals, well I can certainly attest to the fact that there were indeed thousands of necessary “baby steps” along the way to make this DVD a reality. For the past two years, I had only seen this footage in terms of individual song clips on Youtube and seeing it in its entirety, as one concert production, had quite a different effect on me.

It’s truly amazing to think about how many hundreds of hours were spent, writing the songs, engineering the recordings, designing the album artwork, making the music videos, assembling the band, learning how to technically pull off a live show like this, rehearsing the songs, planning and promoting the live show, preparing the video projections for the show, staging the event, producing and editing all of the footage recorded at the concert, prepping all of the material for DVD, printing and shipping it to market….. I could go on but that is just scratching the surface on the amount of work that had to be done for this one event and this one product to materialize.

When you finish a studio album you get the same sense of accomplishment but there is something quite different about seeing a concert performance on the screen in front of you. It testifies to the amount of work that was involved in the project both visually and sonically. It’s almost as if a concert video removes a bit of the “Wizard of Oz” kind of mystique that can surround studio albums and replaces it with a greater sense of “reality”. Of course, maybe that’s just my point of view as the artist?

Like a fine wine, life unfolds and evolves in ways that you can never totally plan or prepare for. While you may have an educated guess of how to get there, you can steer things along the way but usually the end result is not always exactly what you had in mind. Sometimes it’s better, sometimes it’s not but all in all, it brings you to where you are today. Where am I today? Well, today I am truly thankful.

Thankful
I’m thankful for everyone that has helped and supported me over the years to nurture this dream of making music. I know that sounds like some rehearsed speech from an award ceremony but it is the truth. At first glance, looking at many of the physical products we now have in the catalog, you might think that I’m taking most of the credit myself. The reality of this is actually quite different. As with all of the works that I have taken on, without the people around me supporting and inspiring me; I could have never accomplished all of the things that I have done.

The unsung heroes are the people in my life that keep me motivated, keep me humble and help me by ensuring that the work has merit and is not all an ego trip. Let’s face it, the work is tedious, self absorbing and time-consuming. It hardly makes you the type of person most would want to hang out with on a day-to-day basis. Much of the time it hardly seems worth all of the fuss and sacrifices that are involved. Yet with a support system of family, friends and colleagues, as well as a sincere belief in what you are doing; things can happen, dreams do come true and the work is worth it in the end. It’s the love for the work and the love for those around you that keep the wheels of progress turning.

The Future
I really feel like the future has great things in store.  With the continued help and support of everyone around me; I know I’ll be able to enter into the next chapter with new determination and new resolve to keep working on the dream. At the same time, hopefully without sounding pretentious, I truly hope that along the way, I can help others’ with realizing their dreams as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and for supporting the music we are making. Without all of you that buy and support the music, none of this would be possible. – JOF

Press Release
Now available for PRE-ORDER the FIRST LIVE DVD from the John Orr Franklin Band! Recorded in October of 2009 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas, this DVD contains a 75 minute long concert performance as well as music videos and many more bonus features.

The LIVE DVD serves as a testament bookending a trilogy of albums released by John over the last four years. Containing live performances of material from all three of the releases (Pathways, Transformation & Lighthouse), the LIVE IN AUSTIN DVD reflects the overall body of work that John and the band have accomplished and is the ultimate souvenir for fans of John’s music.

The DVD was produced by Blue Room Digital Productions in association with Austin Media Productions.

 The John Orr Franklin Band is:
John Orr Franklin – Vocals & Guitar
Ryan Redfern – Bass Guitar
Roberto Palladino – Drums
Chris Cribb – Keyboards

All DVD orders via bandcamp.com include the immediate download of the digital single “Out of the Zone”(LIVE).

For more information visit johnorrfranklinband.com or melodicrevolutionrecords.com

The direct link to pre-order the DVD is http://johnorrfranklin.bandcamp.com/album/transformation-live-in-austin-dvd

A Beacon of New Music!
What’s this? A brand new album release! Where is Soldier On, the new album with the latest single Alpha and Omega? Surprise! We present you with an entirely different album to dive into and enjoy while you wait for the colossal Soldier On release!

It’s been a bit of a race, both of the two projects have been in the works for nearly two years now. I’ve gone back and forth a few times as to which one I thought would actually be completed first and alas, it looks as though Lighthouse has come to the finish line first. For those of you that were expecting the Soldier On release, it’s still on target for release this November if all goes accordingly. The latest hitch to the Soldier On album getting completed is a failing hard drive in the recording studio. Yak! Hopefully this will not set things back too much. All will be resolved soon and production will continue! Now, on with the details of the new album that we find here in front of us, Lighthouse! The time is truly right for the release of this album and it seems to me to be an excellent follow-up to the last album Transformation.

A Theme of Light
Lighthouse is not so much a concept album as it is an album with a collection of songs that share a common theme. It’s an album about finding the light, searching for personal truth and the choices that we all face along the way on this journey of life. There is always a choice to be made that determines the direction we will take our life in and this album is about listening and searching out the signs and guides that can help us along the way.  If we stop long enough and quiet our minds, we will hear the answers, see the beacons and feel the directional pull within our hearts that will allow us to find our personal truth and way. The guides are all around us, in the people we know, within nature itself as well as deep within our own hearts. Each of us has a personal truth that is unique. Only you can know when you have found the way that is right for you. Love and life are a tidal flow. All we can do is dive in and see where it takes us.

Production Philosophy
Lighthouse features eleven new recordings, many of which are songs I have been developing for several years. The production style of Lighthouse expands on a direction that I’ve touched upon with songs from previous albums by combining elements of ambient, trance and dance to the predominant rock styles resulting in what I like to call a transcendental rock experience. How’s that for a new genre?

I wanted Lighthouse to have a unique sound compared to my other releases. The decision to incorporate and layer in electronic drum grooves over the rock and roll back beats has certainly given many of the songs a cool new vibe. I’ve been listening to a good deal of ambient releases such as The Orb’s Metallic Spheres featuring David Gilmour and this inspired me to try a more electronic production approach to the overall sound of the album. The end result is an album that I feel has a focused sound from start to finish. Whereas Transformation was an album that relished in experimenting with a wide range of musical styles, I really set out to produce the songs on Lighthouse to share this common sonic theme.

Cover Art
It’s not hard to notice the similarity in the cover artwork for Lighthouse and the cover artwork for Transformation. I saw this as a perfect transition graphically from the last album to this one because it appears as if things are moving into a more focused vision. Which is actually a perfect representation of what the past two years of my life have been like, as an artist and as an individual. Transformation was the beginning and that graphic reflected a coming into being from essentially nothing, whereas the Lighthouse artwork has a more defined symmetrical harmony and brilliancy of focus.

Indeed my life has changed greatly in the last two years, I’ve become a vegetarian and had quite a few personal revelations that have made me more aware of who I am and what I believe in. All of this personal work is reflected in this album as well as the next album Soldier On due later this year. So, more is to come!

The light in the center of the artwork, represents to me the individual soul or spirit energy that makes us each unique. It resides in a vast universe of blue that is filled with the energy of every living creature, all interconnected and all part of the whole. To better understand how this philosophy weaves into the songs on this album, I’d like to walk you through each song and what the music means to me. I still encourage you to take away from the songs your personal meaning as they may apply to your journey.

Track by Track walk-through
“Love Light Alive” The lead off track and the lead off lyric pretty much sums up the entire theme of this album. “Each and every one you love today, becomes a beacon light that guides the way“. Each of us carries a spark until the day we pass on when this spark transcends back into the universe. A song of reconnecting with life and the love that is around you, becoming one with all. As my girlfriend deemed, this song makes you want to do tai chi, even if you don’t know how to do tai chi.

“Deep Inside” Sometimes the way through truly is within us all along. If we spend all our time looking outward for our answers but never look within; we may be missing out on finding the purest and simplest of solutions. Much of the time, we already have all the tools within us to succeed, we only need to look for them within. “Feel the right in time“.

“Energy” This song was originally on the Pathways album with a much different production style. I stripped away the electronic drum beats from the original version and presented it in the style that the song has evolved into for our live shows. I really think that this version fits better with the overall vibe and message of the song. “Everything combined is energy“

“Infinity” Infinity was written on a beach looking up at a full moon many years ago. This seems to be a recurring theme on the Lighthouse album so including this song on the album was a no brainer. Looking up towards infinite possibilities while firmly rooted in a sense of self, we realize that no matter how large our problems and worries seem; under the grandeur of nature, we gain a perspective that puts trivial matters in their place.

“Hypnotized” A song that ultimately deals with the confusion that can surround us when we are faced with confronting difficult life choices. The answers may be present but at times are veiled with emotions that blind and confuse our reality. Hypnotized was also featured on the charity release album “Strength” to benefit the relief efforts in Japan.

“Adrift” Imagine a night swim in the ocean with a full moon above, floating weightless and drifting aimlessly. Ahhhh.. Adrift is an outtake from the Pathways recording sessions. It was a bit too ambient and abstract for either Pathways or Transformation but it was without a doubt a perfect fit for the Lighthouse compilation. The only instrumental track on the Lighthouse album, it makes for a nice reprieve in context of the whole.Originally entitled “Drift”, I changed it to “Adrift” to fit in more with the Lighthouse theme.

“Lighthouse” The title track to the album and what I feel in the centerpiece to the entire project. At times, we all may feel as if life has us a bit “lost at sea” searching for a beacon to guide us back home.

“The Choice” Sometimes we chain ourselves down by refusing to make a choice at all. Indecision can be cancerous and we’re better off relishing in the times of pivotal change and just go for it. In the words of Neil Peart of Rush, “if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.”

“A Different Path” Sometimes as we make our choices and make our way, we have to realize that we won’t always be right in our decisions and it’s never too late to make a course correction and adjust our heading. It’s never too late to change. A pretty straight forward tune with a straight forward message. As long as we continue to move forward and make progress, then we’re still walking the right path.

“Shine” ”Burn bright and learn to shine”. I can still hear my mother’s voice in my head every morning as she would wake me for school with the words “Rise and shine”. I suppose that could be the original inspiration for where this one came from. While I let the guitars remain in the rock vibe, the groove of this one is all about a bit of reggae.

“Mountains” The greatest force in this universe that enables us to summit large mountains and reach higher than we ever thought possible, is love. This song was originally recorded during the Transformation sessions. I brushed it up with a few new electric guitar parts and it really seemed to fit nicely as a final statement for this album. “Our love will take us higher“.

Now the Music is Yours
Well, that’s my track by track walk through the new album and what it means to me. No longer just my music, it is now our music and I hope it lives and travels far and wide. I’m extremely proud of this release and I hope it touches your soul, possibly makes you smile or even helps in some small way to inspire you to continue your search for love in the event you’re still searching. If you’re in full embrace with your love, then I hope it makes you want to relish in thankfulness for having grasped the boundless and embraced the divine. Get up and dance! Life was never meant to be taken so seriously as to chain yourself down to things that in the end, probably don’t matter much. Take care of yourself so you can take care of the ones you love.

Peace, love & light!
JOF

Newly signed, Melodic Revolution Records recording artist, John Orr Franklin from Austin, TX releases new digital single “Alpha and Omega”.

Nearing completion of his third full length album, John has begun releasing a series of digital singles to determine the best possible format and packaging for the new release. Ultimately, feedback from the fans will determine the final format for the album. The band would very much like to see the project fully realized on a double vinyl LP with professional cover artwork and digital downloads. The band plans to use the proceeds from sales of the albums first digital singles and they are also planning a fan-based fundraiser on Kickstarter.com in order to see this dream into reality.

The new album entitled “Soldier On” is a science fiction based story that follows one soldier through his personal trials as he discovers his true identity within the grandeur of a universe that has suddenly gotten much smaller.

In an effort to take the first single “Alpha and Omega” to the next level, John brought on Gavin Harrison, drummer from the band Porcupine Tree, as a special guest on the song. Gavin is the drummer I had in mind when I was writing the demos for this album, so naturally the end result is a perfect fit that stays true to my original vision and then some.

Johns live group, the John Orr Franklin Band, is currently booking live shows in the US and aspires to play for audiences in Europe

and South America. Keep an eye out for this awesome live show when it comes to your town! – ΔΩ