Shlomo Franklin Announces Debut Release DON'T LOVE ANYBODY EP Out May 18

New York-based singer/songwriter Shlomo Franklin announced his debut release, Don't Love Anybody EP. Out on May 18th, the five-song EP is a collection of raw folk songs inspired by 60s and 70s Woodstock icons and produced by Grammy Award winner C. Lanzbom (Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen). After years of living a double life, Don't Love Anybody EP is a claim to self-identity for Shlomo Franklin where he finds a world all his own through the power of music. Friday afternoon, Culture Collide premiered the lead single and title track off of the EP "Don't Love Anybody" here.

Listen to "Don't Love Anybody"

Growing up, Shlomo's identity was dependent on his environment at the time. In his hometown of Monsey, NY Shlomo practiced hasidic judaism and spent his days studying the Torah at an ultra orthodox religious school. Roughly 75 miles north in Bethel, NY he was considered a farmboy milking cows and baling hay on his father's dairy farm that bordered the legendary festival grounds of Woodstock. There he had friends of different cultural backgrounds and felt as though he was a part of something much bigger than his small religious community a few miles south.

Shlomo lived a simple life due to his religious upbringing. Without access to TV, radio, or popular culture, he was forced to occupy his free time with more organic pleasures. Shlomo would play covers inspired by Woodstock icons and dream of the musical legends that once flooded the festival fields. But Shlomo was a dreamer, a songwriter, and a poet who would eventually use his imagination to eliminate barriers and achieve a world all his own through his music. Now age 22, Shlomo has finally broken free of his past and brought his new world to life through Don't Love Anybody EP.

The coming of Don't Love Anybody EP was as untraditional as the story behind it. Shlomo was discovered by a store owner when sampling an old Gibson guitar at a small music shop in Teaneck, NJ. The owner thought Shlomo's sampling was a recording and ventured to the back of the store to see where the music was coming from. Shocked that it was a person, the owner called his longtime friend and Grammy award winner C. Lanzbom to hear his music. Lanzbom later invited Shlomo to his studio and from that meeting decided to produce his album; which soon evolved into Shlomo's debut.

Don't Love Anybody EP is a journey of youthful and naive songs, much imitating his unconventional upbringing to seeing the modern world for the first time. In addition to Lanzbom (guitar), the album features a list of legends like Shawn Pelton (Ray Charles, Elton John) on drums, Dave Richards (Rosanne Cash, Marshall Crenshaw) on bass, Joel Diamond (Graham Parker, Livingston Taylor) on piano/organ, and Dave Eggar (Paul Simon, James Taylor) on cello. This record is a result of Shlomo's unique past coming full circle. "I couldn't be happier for these songs," Franklin reflects. "They all reached their potential in the studio."

Don't Love Anybody EP tracklist:

1. Don't Love Anybody

2. Waltz For You

3. About Last Night

4. Cruel Intentions

5. January Eyes

Photo Credit: Liz Maney