2022 sees a new Chapter In Carla Franco’s music identity. With the release of her debut album today, she introduces the world to the first chapter of her greater story with a timeless, immortal and personal offering. ‘Chapter I’ features a joining of styles combined with a lyrical and emotional authenticity ever present in Carla’s songwriting and artistry as a whole.
For Carla, the main driving force behind Chapter I was taking all steps necessary to create a niche sound for herself to establish her career without compromising her originality as a songwriter. Deeply inspired by the music she listens to personally, the use of elements such as tones, instrumentals and vocal effects in different genres of music influenced where to take her previously acoustic dominant sound.
More info about Carla Franco’s Debut Album
The album was produced and mastered by Hendrik Joerges, with the exception of the song ‘Virtue’ which was produced by Ebenezer Maxwell. Consisting of a little bit of everything, including a song Carla wrote in high school, most of the tracks on the album were written during the period Carla recovered from a broken ankle in 2021.
The project as a whole took around 2 years to finish from having written and composed the music, recording the stems, through to the production work. There were various spaces where tracks were recorded to complete the album and it features a little bit of everyone who really has had an impact on Carla Franco’s music career, which makes the project all the more important, intentional and special.
Some of the songs on Chapter I were recorded in Carla’s hometown Bloemfontein, whilst others were recorded in Johannesburg, where she now resides.
Carla Franco comments her debut album
“Chapter I, along with the perfect pairing with Hendrik Joerges, was the project I wanted to set the real tone with where I am willing to go with my songs musically, without losing the roots emotionally and lyrically. Chapter I is a project that combines a few facets of my experiences while giving different tones to each of them. Chapter I is the new chapter of a new book but remains an extension of the previous stories.”
Carla Franco describes writing her songs as an extension of, or almost, a journaling of, her own lived experiences and experiences she has observed. Each song can be considered a short story or glimpse into experiences she, and many others, have had, in a musical form. Chapter I is an accumulation of acoustic pop, alternative, rock and jazz/funk with hip hop undertones. Fans can look forward to a little bit of everything and then some.
Carla Franco comments
“My hope is that Chapter I screams Carla Franco as I’ve always been (especially as a songwriter), but that it also sets the tone for where I am willing, and very much wanting, to go. It’s a little bit of me, unashamedly, in a couple of songs that took literal blood, sweat and tears to create in full. My hope is that folks can enjoy and also, relate. That it makes them feel. That is the ultimate success, for me as an artist, to make people truly FEEL something.”
You can stream Chapter I on your preferred streaming service HERE,
Watch this space for updates in the Music News category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
You might also like
-
Carla Franco's third album, A Funeral For My Grief, is a conceptual journey through grief's five stages, exploring heartbreak and identity with raw emotional clarity.
Carla Franco releases "Version of Me," a stripped-back single exploring identity and independence. Her third album arrives April 25, 2026.
-
Hearing-impaired singer-songwriter Carla Franco releases "My Love," a powerful indie pop ballad exploring emotional labour, lost love, and self-worth.
South African alt-pop artist Carla Franco releases "Hot Mess," a raw, emotionally charged single about toxic love and self-accountability, complete with a striking music video.
