Rising star Franck, also known as FKA VIGILE, has quickly become a force in the electronic music scene with his signature “hard bounce” style, which blends techno, trance, and hard house elements.
Photo credit: Franck – Facebook
Fresh from performing for 30,000 people at Beyond The Valley festival in Australia and completing an extensive Asian tour, this Scottish producer is making waves globally. As founder of the Carouse label and its sub-labels, Franck has helped shape a new generation of electronic music while staying true to underground club culture.
EG sat down with Franck to discuss his recent releases, upcoming North American debut tour, first official remix under the Franck alias, and his vision for the electronic music scene.
EG: Hi, Franck! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now?
Franck: Thanks for having me! Life is good, I’m not long back from my tour in Australia and Asia which was wonderful but happy to be home in (not as warm) Scotland.
EG: So, it seems like you’ve hit the ground running this year with a string of performances scheduled for January, February, and March. How are you feeling about the dates that have transpired so far? What are some of the performances you’re most excited about?
Franck: Yes, it’s been one of the most exciting starts to the year I’ve ever had—kicked off 2025 playing to around 30,000 people at Beyond The Valley festival in Australia, so it will be hard to top that! That was the 3rd time I’d toured Aus, and I think it gets better every time, so we are planning something big for next time out.
Following that, the tour in Asia was amazing. I’ve never visited this continent, so it was a welcome opportunity for me personally to see another side of the world, and I was happy that there was appreciation for my style of music here as well! Now looking ahead to the rest of Q1 and Q2—I have my debut tour in North America coming up, which is very exciting—playing gigs in Montreal, New York, Las Vegas, and San Diego. Once again—I’ve never visited before, so I’m continuously grateful my passion for music allows me to also fulfill my desire to travel and see the world.
Then I will be returning to South America in March with a tour of Colombia and a gig in Mexico, so I think I am now deserving of the title of “Worldwide International Man of Mystery”.
EG: And you’ve already kicked off the year in style with your remix of Durdenhauer’s ‘U Know I Don’t Play’ for GEARS. Congratulations. You must be excited to have that one out and about. What was the initial reception like? Do you remember the first time you played this one live?
Franck: Fun fact—this is actually the first remix I have released under my alias of Franck, so yes, it was good to finally work on and release something. It came quite naturally as I was playing the original by Durdenhauer a lot in my sets, and he asked me if I would like to remix it. When it is a track you already really like, it can sometimes make the process easier, and I was able to conceptualize my idea for the remix.
EG: So, what was it about the original cut that drew you in? What do you look for when choosing what track to remix?
Franck: Well, like I said, I had already been playing the original a lot, so that is a good starting point. In general, however, my approach when it comes to remixes is that I think a remix should try to bring something new or reinterpret it somehow. So for this track, I could hear it was already a strong techno track with a catchy vocal, and that in itself is enough for some situations, but I thought why not give it a new dimension and add a typical catchy Franck lead so it can be more of a bouncy hands-in-the-air sort of track, and I hope that is what it achieved.
“I hope in time a community can further build around Carouse and it can inspire the next generation”
EG: And we know there’s an incoming one for Funk Tribu on your own Carouse imprint? What can you tell us about this one? What can we expect from Carouse in 2025?
Franck: Very excited for this one—myself and Funk Tribu have kind of come up at the same time in this new generation of trance/techno hybrids, and I think our sounds really complement each other. He is a super talented producer, so it was a pleasure to remix one of his tracks, and once again, I hope I added a new layer to this track, but the whole release is amazing and a big milestone for us as a label.
We have got a lot planned with Carouse for 2025—the main label has several more big releases from international artists lined up, and we will be continuing to put out our DUNTCLUB releases, which is our slightly harder sub-label, and also kicking off SNOUT&STELLA, which is our more speed garage-focused sub-label, so just continuously looking to develop the musical sphere.
EG: Last year, Carouse was nominated by another prominent publication as one of their ‘breakthrough labels of the year.’ How do you feel about this and what does it mean to you to have Carouse making waves so quickly?
Franck: It’s very flattering to be recognized by such an esteemed publication, and all the credit goes to the artists whose music has helped shape the label into what it is. For me, I want to continue to grow this platform so it can keep pushing out these producers’ music and hopefully aid them in their careers as musicians. I also hope in time a community can further build around Carouse and it can inspire the next generation as I am told it has done already!
EG: How would you define ‘hard bounce’? What is it that sets it apart from other genres? What was it about it that made you fall in love with it?
Franck: There’s something about that offbeat bassline that just gets me going! I’m sure I’m not the only one, but it just feels like a real injection of energy in a track. I’d say this is a common characteristic when it comes to what I call hard bounce, while tracks within this self-claimed genre also feature sounds from techno, trance, and hard house alike. Ultimately, you can call it what you like and I don’t really care, but it’s a useful term I use for myself that helps give a name to this new evolving sound, and it might help others be able to put a label on what they like.
EG: On to the state of the scene… What do you see as the biggest challenge for the music industry in the next few years, and how do you think artists can adapt?
Franck: Well, there are a lot of challenges we are facing, but I think one of the most pressing is the closure of small clubs and monopolization in some ways of the scene. I think it stems from social media and how people consume content in general. It’s now easier than it ever has been to be exposed to an artist and potentially follow, whereas before, to form a musical connection with an artist, it was harder and more time-consuming. The result is a more concentrated handful of DJs that only a select few promoters can headline and a crowd that is drawn to only the most popular artists based on social media metrics. This means that smaller clubs can’t afford to book the household names, and the punters aren’t going to smaller clubs because they don’t know the DJs and are spending all their money on mega line-ups and festivals. This takes away from the organic nature of the scene where artists can come up playing through grassroots venues before moving to international. Without a local scene, we will start to see reduction in musical integrity and more of a move towards commercialization, which kind of defies what underground club culture is built upon. To fix it, I think we need to be less online in general—punters need to go out to their local clubs more even if it’s local DJs or ones you haven’t heard of, promoters need to continue booking increasingly diverse line-ups, and DJs need to be more open to playing for less at smaller clubs.
“Without a local scene, we will start to see reduction in musical integrity and more of a move towards commercialization, which kind of defies what underground club culture is built upon”
EG: Finally, what’s next for Franck? What new milestones are you looking forward to in 2025? Where can your fans catch you next?
Franck: After having a couple of years of quite fast ascension, I feel now I have solidified my fanbase and level as an artist. This year I have a lot of exciting collaborations planned as well as solo projects I can’t wait to share. On the gig front, I am continuing to fly around the world and play everywhere that someone wants me. Some of the clubs and festivals I have in my calendar are pretty crazy, but I can’t share them right now, I regularly post my gig dates on my social media, so make sure you are following me there.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Franck! We wish you all the best for the future. Take care!
Franck: Thank you so much!
‘U Know I Don’t Play (Franck Remix)’ is now available on GEARS. Stream and download here.
Follow Franck: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook
