Responsible for LA’s hipster dance party movement, 30-year-old DJ Franki Chan started as an illustrator whose record label IHEARTCOMIX recently exploded as a “fully fledged lifestyle brand”, incorporating mega-budget parties, consultancy and a clothing collection. Yet at its heart lies the DIY ethics of 90’s punk culture and the family aesthetics of the Marvel Universe. “I like taking lessons from comic book world and applying them to the music world. Be independent and create a family atmosphere. I want to leave behind a legacy of something positive. I want to go big and bring my friends, but do it my way.”
 
Name a person or organisation that shares your DIY ethos, and explain why?
Leyla from HEARTSREVOLUTION/HEARTSCHALLENGER. We’ve known each from right around the inception of both HEARTSCHALLENGER and IHEARTCOMIX. We are very close in age and share similar roots in the 90’s punk rock scene. However, we’ve both taken the fiercely independent ideals of that scene and have applied them to real world situations with the goal of being a success, but on our own terms and for the right reasons. While we are both strong personalities and sometimes butt heads on issues, I know that I can always look to her for the shot of inspiration I need or the frank observations I wasn’t looking for, but needed to hear. She’s so smart and so strong and just being in her presence and having someone like that in my daily life inspires me to work harder to not only stay true to my ideals, but just to try to keep up with her.

Send us a picture/video that summarises your view of modern life, and explain why?
Because I still hope that in the future we will have cooler cars. I also think there is a high chance that the Ghost Car is the car from Back to the Future. We’re living in the future! Fuck the recession, this shit should already be happening!


Do you think the recession has helped or hindered your creativity? Why?
It definitely helped creativity. IHEARTCOMIX is still a growing business and I’m from a poor background. Being around poverty or having to make due with limited means doesn’t bother me. In fact, it’s given us the skills to be able to weave in and out of what’s happening and make the most of it. We’ve had to really focus on our own resources and rely on those around us which has created a real sense of unity and revelation. In the end team IHEARTCOMIX will be stronger for it.

Music for a revolution - what song sums up your attitude?
Wham City - Dan Deacon

What other period inspires you the most, and why?
I don’t tend to look to other time periods too much, I tend to draw mostly from my own experiences and a general hope for the future. Though there are a ton of elements and ideas from the past that really attract me and I suppose if I had to choose one I would choose late 1960’s Marvel Comics. The sheer amount of creativity that was happening at that time is overwhelming. These are characters and ideas that have gone on to become modern myth and endure to this day.

Read more of the YCE feature here.