Austin’s Francene Rouelle comes of age with EP ‘off the carousel’

Her lead single “all the things I’d do” chronicles the thrill of chasing love while leaving parts of yourself behind. While “mr. too perfect” channels the fallout of a relationship—one in which Rouelle sings about walking away from someone who loves you, but not feeling enough for them. Rouelle considers the latter the song on the album she’s proudest of, due to how vulnerable she felt while writing it. “(Writing) ‘mr. too perfect’ was very much like word vomit, like there was not too much thinking. It was just the honest feeling of what it felt like to be loved by someone and still not feeling enough to be loved by them,” she says.

Rouelle sees the album as a coming-of-age project, one in which she reflects on the role relationships play in her own life, through observations she’s made of her parents, her partner and her friends.

But Rouelle’s journey of growth can also be applied to her path as a musician, something she didn’t always see as a viable option for her as a Filipina American.

Growing up in Austin, she grew up in a musical family, singing in church choirs and performing in plays. In fact, Rouelle seemed destined for a path in musical theater, even choosing it as her major while studying at Texas State University.

Being on the stage gave Rouelle a passion for storytelling, music and art. But with few opportunities to tell Asian stories on stage, Rouelle began to feel boxed in for certain roles as a performer. And with that, a desire to find alternative ways to tell her own story grew. “With musical theater, there’s not a lot of opportunities to really audition for roles,” she says. “Obviously, there's that big one, Miss Saigon. But even then, Miss Saigon is about the Vietnamese experience. As a Filipina, it's really hard to even relate to some of the shows that are created for Asian Americans.”

Like many Filipina Americans, Rouelle grew up in a musical family and was drawn to musical theater.

Chie Endo and Tylah Blaize

Rouelle says she eventually switched her major to fashion, giving her the opportunity to express herself more creatively as a musician. Breaking away from musical theater also helped her build a network with fellow Asian musicians in the Austin area.

Two years ago, Rouelle performed with her dad’s band at a local showcase celebrating Asian American culture in Austin. It was there that she caught the eye of waverly, a producer and founder of mHart, Austin’s first and only Asian American music label. Rouelle says her chance encounter with waverly would have never happened had she not tried to put herself out there to sing more in the public eye. Shortly after that performance, she signed with mHart as one of the label’s artists. “I think it's important that this space is created for artists like me who are Asian American,” Rouelle says. “I think mHart was a way for me to finally feel safe and supported, and feel comfortable in sharing (my experiences) because I’m surrounded by like-minded people.”

And while the city of Austin is home to a large Asian population, Rouelle notes there still isn’t a large community of Asians in the local music scene. “It's very scarce,” she says. “Even when we're playing shows, it's hard to get an audience to come.”

Still, she’s heartened to see the massive growth of Asian artists in music in recent years, noting the success of the K-pop industry and festivals like 88Rising’s Head in the Clouds. She hopes to be part of that movement through encouraging other aspiring musicians to write from the heart. “I would love to inspire people to be vulnerable and find power in their vulnerability, just being honest about your emotions and your feelings and not hiding it,” she says.