Michael Franti knows all about the power of music. He knows how it can inspire, uplift and make people want to dance or cry. He felt it firsthand recently when he heard the children’s chorus at New York’s PS22 elementary school singing “I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like)”, the celebratory first single from Franti’s tenth studio album, All People.
“It moved me to tears, to hear these kids singing, ‘Everybody wants me to be who they want me to be.’ That’s who I wrote ‘People’ for. To let them know, your mission in life should be to be yourself and to embrace the diversity of others.”
All People is the follow-up to Franti’s wildly successful 2010 release, “The Sound of Sunshine”, his highest charting album to date. Recorded primarily at his home with guitarist J Bowman, the two recorded some 35 songs before settling on the final track list for All People. For the first time, Franti reached out to collaborate with various writers and producers.