Meet Franklin Cole | Music Composer & Percussionist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Franklin Cole and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Franklin, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
There’s so much appeal to the arts and creative ways of thinking. I feel like my calling is to channel creative energy and utilize it in different ways. I knew I would be doing something artistic down the line but I wasn’t sure what it was at first. The most beautiful thing is that we are changing beings that are always learning more and growing and art is something that is constantly changing and expanding. Just like I am.
I am here to change others.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The type of art I make is rooted in messing with ideas. I like to experiment. I believe that the root of original, creative art (in general) is having innovative concept so I base all of my music off of concepts and I usually like to get really specific with them.
For example, what if a choir didn’t sing and instead they do rhythmic chants? That’s my song titled No. 8.
What if I moved one note at a time through a chord progression?
That’s my song titled Fervency.
And I really love the art community. So many of these innovative ideas get shown through different mediums and it inspires me. Whether that’s strangers, colleagues, friends, coworkers, or family, people have a lot more ideas than they think they do. Sometimes I even see it where there is none. There is an idea somewhere. I hope to get more involved in different artistic mediums with my music and share the discoveries/ideas that come my way to make even more sophisticated, creative art.
I think there is a lot to say about me and my work but if I funnel it down to a few things, it would be that I try to make my music listenable, create seemingly new ideas (to me), and often find myself researching further into music academically. I find there is often too much musical findings that exists in the world so I can either alter the concepts I find, or I try to create ideas from scratch which is a lot more difficult. My hope is to create excitement/inspiration for the whole world when they hear music and my goal is to reshape how we think about music.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many places that are so fun to explore and locations to check off your bucket list with.
From a candy store called Rocket Fizz to a local home style breakfast called Cozy Cottage, there’s so many exciting stores to explore.
I live in Arvada so I feel so close to home and nostalgic. Olde Towne is such a fun place to explore, there’s live music and markets that happens seasonally.
There’s some really cool hidden bars in Denver that are marvelous to find. They should stay hidden so I won’t say what they are.
One of the best venues I have been to is Hermans Hideaway and I reccomend if you want to vibe and listen to phenomenal musicians.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s lots of people that mean a lot to me. My family has fostered the arts so I will remember my illustrative/designer father, choir mother, dancing sister and my motion graphics animator brother. They will be close to my heart and be my creative force.
Members of the Skylight Records in Colorado such as Joseph Westerfield, Jerry Ware and Alex Wuschak. They have my back and will always influence and inspire my musical side.
My composition teachers that taught me life lessons that will shape who I am as an artist and as a working musician in the modern world. They guided me to be a well-rounded composer and a music academic.
Instagram: Frankies_music
Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/share/18sS9EDtdz/
Other: Second SoundCloud (composer):
Third SoundCloud (hip-hop):
https://on.soundcloud.com/wYn7xTfAaHQJECoGA

Image Credits
Maxwell Schultz
Patricia Surmon
