Austin songwriter, vocalist and musician, Chase Frank, is proud to announce two singles “This Big Blue” and “The Only You” (instrumental) produced with woodwind master Joseph Woullard (Black Joe Lewis, Gary Clark Jr., Hard Proof, Cilantro Boombox). The double single release will be available on April 20, 2021.
“This Big Blue” is both a call-out song and an R&B ballad for the disenfranchised. Frank’s nervy melody and moving lyrics convey the gravity of her message. It evokes retro, yet, timeless feels. The world, our big blue, is in a state of crisis, making it all the more relevant. Woullard’s production is full – with presence, orchestration and smart arrangement – making the four-minute journey feel like miles.
Chase Frank, originally from Long Beach, CA, but who currently resides in Austin, TX, has released five solo albums, and four with her band The Harms – a surfy, garage band founded at the prompting of long-time friend and Producer, Ikey Owens (RIP). She is also a member of the Austin improv group Dub Seance founded by Joseph Woullard. Her most recognizable song “Sweet Apple” has been featured on the FOX/Netflix series Lucifer (S3 E5) and is featured as the title credit track for the movie Falcon Rising. She has also shared the stage with Nels Cline (Wilco),Free Moral Agents, Banyan, Minmae, The Happy Hollows, Thee More Shallows (Anticon), The Pity Party, Rademacher, The Good The Bad (Denmark), Mia Doi Todd, Cold War Kids, and more.
Joseph Woullard is a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist with over a decade of experience touring and recording with popular and critically-acclaimed artists. He is highly awarded and highly requested, with experience writing, arranging, and performing with talented artists around the world, including work with Hard Proof, Black Joe Lewis, Cilantro Boombox, Gary Clark Jr., Ocote Soul Sounds, Antibalas, Spoon and Golden Dawn Arkestra, and Hard Proof Horns – to name only a few. Chase has long had a deep respect for Joe’s playing, and was thrilled when he produced “This Big Blue.” She states, “Working with Joe on ‘This Big Blue’ was great. He’s very patient. As a songwriter, I get flurries of ideas regarding arrangement, so his steady production hand was helpful to keep the process on track. Joe is a great listener and composer. The parts he wrote fit the deepest meaning of my song, and translated well musically.” Joe shares mutual admiration expressing, “Chase has widely varied influences, but is very clear about the sounds and styles she wants to express in the studio. I’ve worked with Chase previously as a guest contributor with her band The Harms and as a member of my improvisational group Dub Seance so were very comfortable working together on her solo output.” The results, “This Big Blue” along with the instrumental version “The Only You” featuring a 2020 newsreel montage, are an impressive pair of songs that captures the work chemistry between the two.
There are a few themes in the lyrics to “This Big Blue.” Identity, hope, honesty, and hypocrisy. The lyrics have deep meaning to Frank who is an identical twin. The song also relates to every person’s struggle to be seen. What is our internal narrative of self in an age of noise, bling and push? The song’s inception spans more than a decade, gathering power in its journey – performed regularly on tours, in her hometown and with friends. Yet, she didn’t feel ready to record it until she approached Woullard to produce. “The song is filled with affirmations I tell myself every day to keep going,” Frank explains. “Some songs need that perfect storm to record.” The cross-country effort was in process just before the quarantine lock-down and the song grew in meaning as 2020 became more intense.
The production magic was also a cross country affair. Frank included her Long Beach hometown collaborators. The piano, clav and electric keys were performed by Latin jazz hero John Fingaz Caldwell (Delta Nove). Longtime friend and collaborator AJ Freeman (Bobby Blunders) and guitar hero Jesse Carzello (Bobby Blunders, Free Moral Agents). They make the song shine. Once their parts were recorded, and painstakingly made into samples, the samples were placed over the drums Ren Lewi (The Harms) and stem tracks produced by Woullard, who then wrote and performed a bass clarinet bed, a flute bed, and finally, a counter flute melody to the lead vocals which plays like a duet. These lines informed the bass part and finalized the thematic current. The singles were engineered and mixed by Gary Delgado in Austin, TX. “The Only You” 2020 newsreel montage was created by J.P. Bedzinski in Long Beach, CA. The singles were both mastered by Stephen Ceresia, Stonyfield mastering, Bastrop, TX.
With the promise of live shows and touring returning this year, Frank hopes to perform these songs to live audiences alongside shows with her band The Harms and with Dub Séance. In the meantime, we can take solace in enjoying the songs on repeat.
Frank concludes, “This song is about not giving up completely, because that’s a low place to start back up from. So, remembering there’s no one else that will EVER make your exact contribution to the world keeps me going. ‘You are the only you in this big blue’.”