Inside franck’s biggest Australian run yet

In the ever-revolving door of visitations from international producers, it can feel tough to truly feel the growing relationship between an artist and the scene they’ve emerged from and what is on offer at home across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

As the growing festival and club circuit across each country grows, so too does the appeal for international names to visit. In many instances, placements on the large-scale lineups of some of our biggest festivals feel more like a business case than any particularly culturally relevant one.

One undeniable trend in recent years, however, is the growth of the hard bounce sound, which appears to have enveloped many of the genres it draws inspiration from and strengthened the relationship between its pioneers abroad and the receptive crowds here at home.

A key artist in that growth is franck, who’s visited Australia four times since his debut in 2024. The artist, the head of Carouse Records and a leading voice in the bounce sound globally, sits at an interesting inflection point in dance music’s constant genre churn and the TikTok-ification of its sound.

This September, franck returns to Australian shores for a series of shows, including an all-night takeover at Boorloo/Perth’s The Vault, presented in collaboration with Mixmag ANZ.

We spoke with franck to understand what makes this visit feel different from the rest.

franck: I feel like all the tours I’ve done before have really been building towards this. I’ve had some class moments in Australia over the last few years, from my Pitch debut in 2024, to New Year’s at Beyond The Valley in 2024/2025, and then Intercell Melbourne in 2025. Every time I come over, it just keeps getting better, so it felt like the right time to take things up a notch.

This time I’m doing a full headline tour, which I’m absolutely buzzing for. The Timberyard in Melbourne in a few weeks will be the biggest headline show I’ve done to date, and it sold out within hours of going on sale, which is pretty mad. With Liberty Hall in Sydney and The Vault in Perth alongside it, this run is shaping up to be one of my best yet. I honestly can’t wait to get back over and see everyone.

franck: It completely depends on the show, to be honest. For the bigger festival sets, I’ll usually start digging for tunes a good bit in advance with the show in mind. But more often than not, I just like to read the room, see how the crowd’s feeling, and let the tunes take me where they want to go.

With these headline shows coming up, we’re bringing in some custom production for the first time, which is a bit of new territory for me. It gives me the chance to put on a show I’ve never done before, so I’m already thinking about which tunes will work with the production and how we can pull it all together into something really special. I’m buzzing to see how it all comes together.

franck: Yeah, you do get a good idea of a lot of the patter and general vibe of Melbourne and Australia as a whole when you go on social media and read through comments, and I think it does hold up pretty well to what it’s like in real life. You all like a joke and don’t take things too seriously - which I’m all for, whether that’s in a comment, a face-to-face chat or on the dancefloor.

franck: You hear what certain countries are like to play in, but I don’t think you ever get a true idea until you visit and play to them for yourself. There’s something about feeling that tangible energy in a room that having someone describe it doesn't capture. Plus, it can be really dependent on the genre as well; a lot of things are at play. You’re better off just getting stuck in and experiencing it for yourself.

franck: I’ve been here a couple of times now and always had loads of fun, from Open Air parks to breweries, the Perth crowd has always been proper up for it which you love to see. I’m excited to play in a proper club for the first time in Perth, and I’ve heard good things about the Vault. It’s a lovely city, and it’s always nice to add to the end of a tour as it makes that brutal travel back home slightly less bad. It’s also the only place I’ve actually seen a kangaroo with my own eyes on Heirisson Island, so that’s something I can tick off my generic Australia to-do-list!

franck: I guess by that I mean the sort of community I’m building around myself and the sound I’m pushing gets better every time. The sort of music I play is naturally pretty popular in Australia; whether I’ve had an influence on that is another story, but to be able to come and play somewhere that really enjoys the same vibe that you do is honestly one of the best feelings. Music is a beautiful thing, but it is best when shared, and I know that when I come visit Australia, you are all gonna love the new tracks I’ve found or been working on, because you essentially cultivate a community around your taste.

I’m still just the guy at an afters buzzing to grab the aux so I can show my mates this new tune that I’ve found, except now I get to do the same thing but to 30,000 Aussies holding up shiny sticks in a dusty field on the other side of the world. What a dream!

franck: It’s funny, music and in particular dance music has had so many different adaptations over time you almost wonder what the point of genres is, which is kinda true and there shouldn’t be anyone losing sleep over it, but I do find it interesting. I guess what I describe as current ‘Hard Bounce’ is most closely linked back to that old-school Hard House sound; think Tony De Vit, Tidy Trax, BK, etc. A lot of those tracks had the signature off-beat bassline, which has become increasingly popular today - it gives the music that injection of energy that embodies the genre. Musically, it sits somewhere between house and techno, a bit too melodic for traditional techno, with one or two too many dramatic breakdowns, and drums that are a little too hard-hitting and fast for straight-up house. The new sort of Hard Bounce sound seems to be moving more in the trance direction as well and could be something completely different in the next couple of years.

That’s the wonderful thing about dance music: there are fewer rules, and there is so much more innovation than in Pop music. Everyone gets inspired by each other and adds their own touch until they’ve created a new sound and maybe even a whole new genre to go with it. I personally really need to be excited about the music I’m making to be motivated, and this new Hard House sound, but with more trance elements, is something I want to explore more of moving forward.

franck: As I said before, music is constantly evolving, and I think this sound became popular from a desire for somewhat hard and fast beats, post-COVID, but not super distorted kicks that we are finding in today's popular industrial techno scene, but something with a bit of melody and high energy. It sort of fills the space between the slower-BPM house scene and the scary demon techno. It’s music where, even if it isn’t an edit, it sounds like it could be in a familiar way, which means it’s quite accessible even to folk that wouldn't normally go to clubs

franck: I think in today's music industry it’s a pretty essential part of the job. Don’t get me wrong, if you do just want to make music and DJ and not bother with socials etc, you can, but you’re going to struggle to make a career out of it. It’s such a saturated market now that I think anything you can do to stand out a little more is something you should probably take advantage of. The thing with apps like TikTok is that they heavily favour content that is more personal rather than professional, so this gives you an opportunity to connect with your fans on a deeper level.

There is more music than there has ever been, so if your followers can get a taste of your personality and start to (hopefully) like you as a person rather than just a DJ or producer, then they’ll probably be a lot more likely to come to your shows and support your music, etc. The main thing as well is just to have a bit of fun with it, like yeh we’re here for music but it doesn’t mean you should be boring and we can have a laugh and joke and not take it too seriously.

franck: The two don’t differ too much, as a lot of the time Carouse Records is an extension of my own sound I’m pushing anyway. This isn’t always the case, and sometimes we might release music that doesn’t quite fit on my USB, but normally, my rule when curating releases is that if I would want to play it and it gets me excited, then it’s worth releasing.

We don’t tend to follow trends or what is popular with the label; the main thing for us is finding high-quality music to release while also platforming genuine artists who deserve more attention. I also enjoy helping fellow artists navigate the music industry, wherever possible, in the same way I have to, and hopefully helping them in their careers.

franck: It’s hard to tell, but my main predictions are the following. The super hard industrial stuff is going to take a bit of a backseat and move back to the niche of ‘harder styles’ from which it came, I reckon. I could see the traditional sort of driving techno becoming more popular again. The really oldschool trance sound reminiscent of Ferry Corsten and Mauro Picotto seems to be coming back, which I’m all here for; I grew up listening to that sort of stuff. I think the new style of Hard House will remain popular. UKG / Speed Garage isn’t going anywhere, and I think that’ll start getting quite mainstream in the States as well. On the biggest stages, I could see that 2010s-style EDM making a comeback. Let’s check in 2031 and see how accurate I was.

-

Tickets to franck’s all-night-long takeover at Boorloo/Perth’s The Vault, presented in collaboration with Mixmag ANZ, are still available.