Release one song a week? We need to have a Frank chat

“Writer’s block is a myth,” says singer-songwriter Frank Hamilton. It’s a good thing really, because he’s embarked on a challenge to write, record and release one song a week. For a whole year.

On the face of it, this sounds like a great idea. However, as anyone who has tried to pen a track will tell you, the challenge is ensuring all the songs are actually worth listening to. Fortunately, Frank is one of the most impressive and accomplished young songwriters in London, as even a cursory dip into the works on his website will demonstrate.

We’ve been enjoying his songs so much that we’ll be posting them up every Friday, when he releases them. Trust us – it’ll start your weekend off just perfectly.

“The whole idea came about after I became frustrated at waiting for other people in the industry to release my records,” Frank tells Scout London. “After a brief flirtation with a major label I put out an EP myself, which almost made it into the album chart, without any marketing. So in January I had this idea, tweeted about it and got a massive reaction. I was basically obliged to do it.

“The reaction has been better than I even expected. I’ve had people like [Spandau Ballet guitarist] Gary Kemp emailing me to say they love it.”

Frankly, we do give a darn. Frank Hamilton is recording and releasing one song a week. And we'll be introducing you to them every Friday

Releasing one song a week has been a good discipline, Hamilton says. It’s made him focus – even though he openly admits many of the songs get recorded at the very last minute. “I haven’t missed a deadline yet though,” he grins.

But it’s not just made him a better writer, it’s also made him a better person. “I’ve learned so much about myself,” he says. That’s not to say it’s been easy. In week nine he says he almost had a breakdown, as the pressure of trying to consistently put out quality tracks ratcheted up.

“Most bands spend about a year writing and recording an album and so have the time to assess how much they like the tracks and if they can be improved,” Hamilton explains. “I don’t have that luxury – the pressure is on to get a quality song written quickly, get it recorded and released.”

We think he’s doing marvellously. You can judge for yourself – here are our favourites: