Features : Frankie 503’s “INFI3L” makes lovely Latin music out of bad love

With his latest release, “INFI3L,” Frankie 503 has created a soft, beautiful ballad set in his unique blend of Latin, urban and pop. The title is the Spanish word that is translated “unfaithful.”

“Disloyal,” said Frankie. “It’s narrated song about someone that’s in the situation where someone’s been unfaithful in their relationship.”

It has a slow, dreamy sound, with an ethereal vibe.

“I wanted that kind of sound for it because for the song itself I pictured a girl in a car, and she just got her heart broken because some guy’s done her completely dirty. Some guy’s cheated or completely left her. The windows are down, and she’s crying. That was my picture when I was writing the song.”

The 503 in Frankie’s name is the country phone code for El Salvador, the country from which his parents immigrated. He was born, raised and lives in Virginia and has played in rock bands, but his heart is in the styles of Latin music that he blends with pop and hip-hop and to create the Frankie 503 sound.

And he likes to tell stories, like the one in “INFI3L.”

“I wanted a story,” he said. “I love writing songs that have stories like that.”

But, as his music is not any one style, he is also not wedded to one kind of story. In “INFI3L,” he wanted to connect with people who have come out on the short end of love.

“There’s a lot of people — not just women, but also men — that can imagine themselves in the car listening to this song and kind of tearing up a little bit because they’re going through a similar situation.”

The dreamy, soulful sound he wanted for “INFI3L” matches the emotional state of the story.

“It’s like you’re in a dream. You have no idea what’s real and what’s not because your emotions are all up and down, so it sounds kind of ethereal. I wanted something like that.”

Frankie himself has been there and done that. One girl hit him with her car and bunged his knee up for weeks. That would be a different kind of song.

One of Frankie’s ambitions is to spark a movement of modern urban Latin music in El Salvador, where the most popular styles are still the more traditional ones, such as cumbia.

“Which is great,” he said. “But I know there’s young people in these countries in Central America and El Salvador in particular that have the desire to make the more modern style of music.”

He has been there several times and will return this spring or summer to perform and record.

Frankie is not wedded to any one style, but the music he creates from the various styles all have a Latin flavor. The album that includes “INFI3L,” TODA LA NOCH3, which means “all night,” is an example.

“I love exploring new things. I never like to say ‘no’ to something if I haven’t tried it — so long as it would not be obviously something terrible. In music, and this album, I am very much like that. It’s got different genres of music — some reggaeton, some that’s more hip-hop style, and there’s even some pop.”

Each of the eight tracks has its own sound. Some share a genre with others on the album, but the mix of styles and the sound is different. His ambition is to write all kinds of music for all kinds of people.

Which is part of his dream of expanding the music of Central America. He loves his Salvadoran roots in the culture and the music.

“There’s so many ways of writing there, but they are so traditional. That’s what they’re taught, and they need someone to come in and show them all sorts of writing — reggaeton, pop, hip-hop, merengue, cumbia, whatever.”

For “INFI3L,” he wanted a reggaeton sound but with “a soft feel in your ear” and a relaxed vibe instead of the dominant dance beat of reggaeton.

“It’s definitely a Latin song, a reggaeton song, but it’s not like we’re going to the club. I wanted this one to be like I sit down, I light up a blunt, and I listen to it in my car.”

You don’t have to speak Spanish to love his songs. You only have to feel music. Connect to Frankie 503 on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

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