CLASH Deputy Editor Shahzaib Hussain navigates the cosmos of the newest, most essential alternative releases in this Astral Realm feature; a liminal space for those seeking mood music beyond the mainstream. Each roundup features a Focus Artist interview, a Next Wave artist spotlight, and a curated selection of the month’s noteworthy releases.
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Focus Artist: Brandon
Brandon is assuming form. The Los Angeles musician’s quest for timelessness solidifies on his debut full-length, ‘Before You Go’, which despite being unabashedly romantic and warm-toned, is modified, discoloured even, by the apparition of past heartache. Throughout, and certainly by the end of an album that is as interior as it is pastoral, Brandon captures the full gamut of intimate moments in and out of relationships; in deep embrace, in the dead air, on the road, in the distance between naivety and earned wisdom.
The drawn-out recording process (some of these songs began as journal-like fragments in his college dorm) saw Brandon reorientate his sound and technique on the guitar. It means he yields a focused set of songs that blossom in the haze of filigreed soul, drowsy folk and soft-rock.
In conversation, Brandon shares his thoughts on resisting the content-saturated, ephemeral side of the industry, how his Trinidadian heritage shaped his musical stimuli, how he bypassed feelings of creative burnout, and fine-tuned his artistry over years to arrive at a collection that will stand the test of time.
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Firstly, congrats on a beautiful album. How are you feeling about it being out there?
I’m feeling ecstatic. It’s been a long time coming. It still doesn’t really feel real yet, but I’m honestly very, very happy. I’m trying really hard to be in the moment and take it all in.
Could you enlighten me on how music shaped your sense of creativity when you were younger. You mention writing in your 6th grade yearbook that you wanted to be a musician. Where did that calling come from?
Music was kind of on the backburner at first. It was always present but it wasn’t my main prerogative. I was always drawing or sketching for as long as I can remember. I still do today but I don’t really share any of that publicly. Growing up, I split my time between music, art and sports evenly. Each one had its own spotlight for short periods of time, but as you can clearly see, music won the gold medal in my life. Music came to me through my mom and her side of the family. Growing up in a Trinidadian household blessed me with the gift of hearing so much beautiful music every day. My uncle is a DJ, my grandma always sang around the house growing up, and my mom did the same.
For as long as I’ve been alive, I can remember my mom singing in a choir. Seeing her on stage brought me so much joy. I don’t remember her having any solos or big spotlights, but just seeing her up there really inspired me. And me being a little kid, I just wanted to copy everything she was doing. So, I joined the kids choir at our church. From there it was full speed ahead. There were definitely times from my late teens into early adulthood where music was really nonexistent but it was always beckoning. No matter how far I pushed it away or tried to do other things, it was always calling after me.
What hardships did you have to overcome early in your career? Did you feel pigeonholed?
I think feeling pigeonholed is pretty accurate. From the beginning, and still a little bit now, I’ve felt like a flower that hasn’t been allowed to bloom. There are so many roadblocks, both internally and externally. I think nowadays being an artist is tougher than ever. The numbers do matter but they also don’t. All that matters is if you’re creating your best art. If you don’t have the heart and the mind for this, it can be really easy to give up. You make friends, you make enemies, but at the end of the day we’re all trying to do the same thing, so I try to be the best I can be and focus on myself. There’s no such thing as competition here.
What projects by other artists get as close to defining who you are as an artist? What works do you always come back to?
D’Angelo And The Vanguard’s ‘Black Messiah’, Bon Iver’s ‘I,I’ and Prince’s ‘Parade’, ‘Around The World In A Day’ and ’Diamonds and Pearls’.
Your pandemic-era ‘Coming Clean’ EP has become a bit of a cult release. Who was Brandon then? How do you view that EP through a more mature lens now?
Great question. Brandon then is different from Brandon now. I was sure of myself then, but now I feel even more sure of myself. That was a time for me where so much change was constantly happening, so I didn’t really have a good grasp of what life was back then. Now, it’s a lot easier for me to roll with the punches. I’m stronger and more confident now. I view ‘Coming Clean’ the same. I’ll listen back from time to time and be surprised at how well I did, especially with my taste and vision evolving so much from then to now. It still feels like me.
‘Blush’ represents a pivot to a style you’ve honed on your debut LP. It feels like a precursor to your album.
‘Blush’ represents a distillation of ‘Before You Go’. I think it’s the start of me beginning to shed the layers of what I had been learning, and what was beneath is what I present in my new album. It gave me room to breathe and to think, to just express myself. As an artist, you can feel pigeonholed to stick to one thing but that is never my intention. Leading up to ‘Blush’, I released a string of singles that were the beginning process of me experimenting after ‘Coming Clean’. They were good songs but still not completely what I was looking for. Admittedly, I was very confused at that time. ‘Coming Clean’ was stripped back on purpose. I started to question myself because it resonated so much with people that I thought maybe I should always keep it simple.
And after many grueling hours spent trying to figure it all out, I worked back to the practicality and intentionality of it all. Everything is always very specific in my music. Each element is there for a reason. In the thick of all of these thoughts and trials is where I found ‘Blush’. I focused on my songwriting, and focused on letting the music flow out of me. This whole five year process was a real whirlwind of trying to figure out what I want, and trying to figure out who I wanted to be musically. It was a long, slow walk. ‘Blush’ was definitely the end of that process leading into ‘Before You Go’.
What’s it been like having a respected imprint like Secretly Canadian backing you at this point in your career?
It’s pretty cool. Everyone at Secretly Canadian is so special. I’ve learned more about the history of the label. Conversations with the founder Chris Swanson has really helped give me a new lens and perspective. I think it’s so cool. I’m a fan of every single one of my current labelmates. Having respect and learning from those who came before will help push you forward.
Tell me a bit about the recording of ‘Before You Go’; your insular recording style and how that informed the intimate, contained world you wanted to create.
So, I started some of these songs in my dorm room in college. A handful of them were fully formed or I had a skeleton of what you’re hearing now. Specifically ‘Right Back’, ‘2 Good’, ‘Incomplete’, and ‘Miss u’, all began in my dorm room around 2018-2019. ‘Miss u’ and ‘Incomplete’ are live takes. For the first I stood up to a vocal mic and ran my electric guitar DI to my interface. I did a few takes and called it a day. Years later I built the rest of the instrumental around that live take, along with some help from my friend Michl playing synth across the track. For ‘Incomplete’, I put a single mic up and just recorded it in one take with my acoustic guitar. And again, years later I put it through my tape machine and sped it up.
The rest I made back home in Riverside or here in my home studio. I think one of the beautiful parts of this album was watching it grow as I grew, whether that was through evolving my taste, technical ability, recording techniques, or new gear. There were so many moving parts to the recording process, and I think letting time see it through rather than rushing, really made it all the more rewarding.
Talk me through the evolution of your relationship with the guitar on this album.
Wow, okay. So my relationship with the guitar on this album is honestly immeasurable. For the most part, the album is driven by my voice and guitar. I wrote every single song on acoustic, which I think pulls everything together under the same hood. It’s all very intentional and each song speaks the same language for the most part. Writing was one challenge, but I think it took me the longest time to get the sounds I was looking for.
After a lot of experimenting, the main instruments I ended up using was my acoustic, a baritone rubber bridge acoustic, a violin bass, fretless bass, my Les Paul Special, Casino, and 335. And with those many different recording techniques, amps, pedals, and effects to work in different tones and sounds. I wouldn’t say there’s a specific object that gave my album its vibe, but the encompassing elements in tandem with one another feel very right and cohesive.
As a whole, this album strips back the artifice. The lyrics and voice are up close, the instrumentation is pared back. There’s a clarity of vision here. What work went into building a musical world that is coherent and intended to be experienced as a whole?
When working on a cohesive project, things can’t be too random. You can’t just add different elements because you think you need to fill up space or something. There has to be a reason for it or it’s gone. Next, what I took into account was the sequencing. Most of my favorite albums have the coolest transitions or sequencing. For example: Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘The Gold Experience’, The Who’s ‘Quadrophenia’, Cleo Sol’s ‘Mother’, Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’, ‘Channel Orange’ and ‘Endless’, D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’ and ‘Black Messiah’, Bon Iver’s self-titled album, Paolo Nutini’s ‘Caustic Love’, The 1975’s first three albums, every Stevie Wonder album, every Michael Jackson album, every Kendrick Lamar album, The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ and ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, Childish Gambino’s ‘Because The Internet’ and ‘Awaken, My Love!’.
I could go on and on and on about this! I named a lot of albums here, but the connection between all of these is yes, that they’re all amazing bodies of work, but even more so the factor is that each artist or band took the time to be intentional, they took the time to make the extra step to bring a certain feeling, a certain mood and intentionality that transcends the music itself. It pulls you in, and brings a new level of depth to each project as a whole.
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‘Before You Go’ charts the bloom of love but also the heartbreak. Is it all autobiographical or observational? Does it follow the stages of one pivotal relationship?
Yes, it’s all autobiographical. These are my real feelings, thoughts and emotions set out on a platter. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily say it follows one pivotal relationship but it definitely is a time capsule of a very specific period of my life. Some joyous, very tender moments, as well as some extremely dark, somber, more miserable times. If anything it really shows the true duality of life, or my life for that matter.
The album grapples with not just matters of the heart but the thorny issues that come with living through your twenties. Beyond the demise of a relationship, what changes were you going through in your personal and professional life you wanted to document?
Some changes I went through were dealing with where I wanted to be in life, figuring out what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be, and why. So really, just answering a ton of tough existential questions. I went to Trinidad & Tobago for the first time during this period, which was an extremely transformative trip that added even more confusion to the bill. I thought I was going to quit trying to make music altogether after that. Life, love, everything is so different there. But upon returning to the states, I felt like I knew myself better. I’d seen where my family is from, where my parents grew up.
Everything in my life made more sense but at the same time it didn’t. It all kind of felt like the world was on my shoulders after that. It made me ask so many more questions, and honestly despise the way we live here in America. Sure, every country has its own problems, but things could be so much easier if we took more pointers from other nations. Backtracking, I think we all have our own sentiments in young adulthood; graduating college, dealing with self-doubt, being thrown into the machine that is America as we know it. You’re always scrambling for someone to give you the golden answer to your problems, when you’re actually the only one that can figure it all out for yourself.
The track ‘September’ is a wistful, bittersweet number. Why was it important for you to honour memories, distance and growth in writing that feels quite diaristic?
For me, it was important to honour these memories because that time really changed me. My music is my diary, and I didn’t really have anywhere to go with those feelings. Capturing the longing and loneliness between what was seemingly a fond farewell, helped me move through what I was dealing with at the time: grief, loss, anxiety. Even though I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be permanent, it helped the time pass by – it all helped ease the pain. This was all a big part of me figuring out how to rest in the unknown, and find peace, even though the situation might not pan out how I want it to.
I want to single out ‘Serotonin’, a personal favourite of mine. Talk me through the creation of this one.
Alright, so this was a fun one. I started this in the fall of 2019. This song is another callback of some fond memories I had with this girl. I tried to set the scene: it was really late, we were at Goat Hill Tavern, an extremely grimey dive bar near the college I went to. We left the bar, but stayed parked outside trying to sober up; joking, laughing, deliriously tired. Within that we somehow had a sincere moment. Those weren’t rare but I think it was the setting that made it significant. All I knew is I wanted to run away with her and forget everything else.
Production wise, this is another that was years in the making. I had the skeleton but let it sit for a while because I just wasn’t ready to finish. Time passed by and I started working on it again. I kept the original vocal take because it was spot on with the feeling I was going for but rebuilt the rest of the track around it. I re-recorded the guitars, bass, live drums, and had my friend Collin play saxophone and flute across a few sections. It turned out beautiful. And if you’re wondering what the heck that sound is at the end of the track, it’s a short piece of a field recording I took outside of the bar not too long ago. I happened to capture the tail-end of a funny interaction, so I decided to drop it in to see if it fit in the song and I loved it.
The track ‘You’ is a journey within a journey. It feels like the emotional climax of the album – tonally it’s a little different to the other tracks.
It definitely is the emotional climax of the album! Once you flip to side B of the record, the tone completely changes. With that comes more intensity, and more of the real world. It’s a bit of a jarring experience or tale. There’s so much back and forth in this song. It feels like it’s constantly teetering on a scale that’s weighing on the good and the bad of a relationship that’s already long gone, yet somehow I still have hope the size of a mustard seed.
This one is very emotional for me. It’s raw, it’s complex, much like me and my feelings. It’s really in its own space compared to the rest of the album. I honestly think this is one of the more depressing songs I’ve ever written. Oddly enough, I wrote this in 2019 when I visited Trinidad for the first time. Quite the juxtaposition. I was surrounded by such immense beauty, nature, and people. Yet, I sat writing this awfully personal, tear jerker of a song. It was perplexing at best, and I honestly still don’t get why it came about in that moment.
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You said ‘Before You Go’ is your quest for timelessness. Could you elaborate on that sentiment? Do you feel disenchanted with the industry? Is your work an active rebuttal of that?
I want my music to last. I want some kid to find my album a hundred years from now, and it be the reason they’re inspired to start creating. I want to create music that will leave a lasting impression on people; that speaks to people, that pulls us all closer together. That’s how I feel about ‘Before You Go’. In my opinion, it has all of those characteristics.
At the same time, yes I do feel disenchanted with the high speed of the industry. There’s a lot of stuff that’s just fast. You can tell it was made fast, but it gets attention because there’s a big budget behind it. I wouldn’t necessarily call my work an active rebuttal to any of that though. What I do is conscious, but I feel as if I’m a conduit for a message being spoken through me. I just want to make music that speaks to the heart.
If this album is a dialogue between musician and listener, what do you most want to convey about your artistry?
I think by the time you get to the end of the record you’ll be able to gather that I’ve dealt with a lot of uncertainty. Resting in the unknown is one of the toughest things to do, but when you have no control, you have to find peace amidst the chaos. You have to take control of what you can, and let go of what you can’t. You find yourself. You figure out who you are at the core. You find God. As I’ve been able to find rest and happiness on my journey, I hope this album can help others do the same.
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Next Wave: Lauren Duffus
After a few years experimenting on the fringes of the electronic underground, Lauren Duffus emerges from the shadows with her debut EP, ‘can’s gone warm’, out May 30th on AMF Records’ Select Few imprint (Alice Glass, Loyle Carner, Greentea Peng).
An imagined, intoxicated journey through London after-dark, Duffus conjures a gritty, sci-fi-infused mythology that feels both dystopian and eerily familiar. Mutating synths spasmodically pop and saunter as Duffus’ synthetic, disembodied voice recites passages from her scribbled diary. The listener can’t quite glean what’s said, but the surround sound feeling is one of hollow longing that becomes ever cavernous with every listen.
For CLASH, Lauren Duffus charts her journey from the cloistered streets of West Midlands and London, to a producer of brooding nocturnes.
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Where does your story start? Take us back to where you were born, grew up and what music was a feature of your formative years.
I’m a North London girl. I was born in Edgware hospital and raised in North Finchley. My parents were both Birmingham natives and I spent my summers with family between Handsworth and Kings Norton. Both my parents loved music, particularly my dad who would play live recordings of dancehall parties constantly booming through the house and car. The music I’d say that stood out during my formative years was dancehall and metal. The latter I picked up from radio and friends in primary school.
What projects or mixes by other artists get as close to defining who you are as an artist.
Portishead’s ‘Dummy’ and Deidream at Wudstilstand 2016.
You’ve quietly been a feature of the underground electronic scene with releases on SoundCloud, coming up through NTS. Tell me a bit about the NTS development programme and how it gave you the resources to create?
The NTS development program was a huge part of my journey. I think they’ve stopped it now but you applied with a handful of tracks and a personal statement, and five people were chosen globally. The sponsors of the program donated equipment to the artists; decks, a keyboard, budget for other equipment and a music video, as well as a trip to Realworld studios, which was just insane. Having a midi keyboard for the first time opened up a whole new world of expression (my first few tracks like ‘Stir Fry’ were made using a computer keyboard).
Being able to really press down on keys and have a range of octaves to explore at the same time was like magic. Exploring new instruments on Logic was so exciting, as I was initially using very basic presets which I will admit I do tend to stick to even now.
What did your home set up look like when you really started dabbling in production during the pandemic?
I had my ex’s old laptop; the set up was purely a laptop and headphones, using the keyboard as midi which was cool because it required a lot of creativity. I think it also helped me develop my own way of production, for example, writing in bends, expression and volume automation without equipment.
Your pandemic-era track ‘Habits’ has endured as a signature track. Were you surprised by its success, and how it became a bit of a soundtrack?
For sure. Especially as the vocals were all recorded directly into the laptop using the built-in mic. It was my first track using vocals properly and I explored how to eq them better to counteract this. Admittedly they’re not the best. This was my first time using the spitfire orchestra plugin also and I enjoyed how dynamic it was. I really like making classical music. I initially submitted the track to AD93 as an instrumental and Nic advised me that it needed more so I sat on it. I remember excitedly recording the first bits of vocal before going to the pub.
My entry to your work was ‘Love Love Love’. It’s a song with momentum and there’s something universal and otherworldly about it. Take me back to the creation of this one.
I actually started the track as an idea to collaborate with TWEAKS, another artist on the NTS program. She gave me a jungle type beat and I started singing over it but it didn’t go anywhere and I took those vocals and developed my own song from it. It was put to bed for a while. I had some struggles with my mental health and went into treatment. After I came out I was put into a recovery house in Lewisham with a new outlook on life. Then I finished the song. It’s a song of mine that feels really happy, hopeful and light which reflects where my head was at for sure. I have so many memories staying up till the next day in that room. It was kind of my little safe space amongst a lot of darkness around me in that house.
What was it like supporting the brilliant MIKE on tour last month? How did it feel performing new tracks on stage to what I imagine was a diverse crowd?
It was an amazing experience with lots of emotions. The reception varied from night to night and it was a real mental challenge as well as being a lesson on being a supporting act where people will be chatting over you. It’s a really humbling and important lesson in professionalism. MIKE was so supportive and positive. He really made me feel valued and welcome even when I felt I wasn’t the right fit at first.
You could never predict how things would go. The cities I thought definitely wouldn’t be interested were seemingly interested the most. Birmingham was a huge highlight for me which I did not expect. Having grown up spending a lot of time there as a kid, I had no insight into their underground scene. Another lovely part was that that show was in Kings Heath, where my grandma used to take me to go shopping as a kid.
Congrats on the release of your debut EP. Describe what it feels like to give away a piece of art you’ve laboured and toiled over.
Thank you. It always feels quite anti-climactic to be honest which is natural, like holding in a breath then letting it out and then you have to breathe in again. It’s very anxiety-inducing to get reception and I do struggle to post promotional things which I need to get better at. It’s definitely a really exciting and inspiring process, especially seeing new doors open and seeing where I could be with some hard work. I’ve really appreciated the support. Another thing that’s quite funny on the topic of promotion is that you’re the centre of your own world, so you assume people are sick of hearing the stuff you’ve been hearing for the last year, even though that’s not the case. I hope!
We got a tease of your debut EP with the first single, ‘N.U.M.T.E’. The title is both funny and tragic; it conveys feelings of hopelessness, fallibility and longing. Was this born from a real-life experience?
Thank you. I find it funny quite a few people have been calling it “numpty”, which works. I guess being a beg makes you one. The song is definitely about longing and it kind of transformed over a few months. Initially I was only singing “I need you more than ever”, and it was a lot more spacious and instrumental. Then it changed into something heavier. The chord change in the main vocal part came in pretty late in the process as a sudden idea. I’m so happy I did it as it conveys that yearning and hopelessness through sound without any lyrics.
The themes are definitely born from real life. It’s really interesting zooming out and looking at your own work; seeing the links between them that you never intended to create. Grief and loss are definitely core themes of my music but passively if that makes sense. I don’t sit down and think “I’m going to make a song about xyz”. It just comes together naturally and then I go “oh”.
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Why did you settle on ‘can’s gone warm’ as a title?
It comes from the prelude song of the EP that goes “woke up and the can’s gone warm, but I’m empty too and now I know I’ve got to stay”. To me, the phrase represents waking up after a night or day of trying to run away from your problems; the icy adrenaline has run out, lost its appeal, and now you’re back empty with nowhere to go.
Is all of the EP self-produced? How long did it take for it to come to fruition?
Yes it is! The oldest songs on the EP are ‘riser’ and ‘can’s gone warm’, with the demos being around two years old, potentially more. So, I guess it took two years but sporadically. I tend to make demos, leave them for ages, then revisit them and get excited. I definitely could have got this all together quicker, but at the same time I may not have added the best bits that came super last minute.
The track ‘Lewisham’ is a brooding symphony of sorts with the voice taking centre stage. How do you approach the vocal production side of your work, where it’s a texture but also the foregrounded part of the song?
I think this comes from the fact that I’m not a great lyricist. I freestyle phrases or even gibberish over the track and play around with them like they’re instruments. I then play around with layering the same takes over each other and harmonising them, cutting them off abruptly or just doing weird stuff to them. I love doing the same with voice recordings to make strange sounds. The vocals on this track were originally quite dry, but when I got my vocal pedal a few months ago I recorded a freestyle on it, cycling through different settings. I then replicated the parts I really liked.
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The track ‘liar’ is my personal favourite. There’s so many moving parts to this track; the trip-hop- esque beat, the ethereal vocals, the haunting chords. Who is the ‘liar’ in question? What inspired the creation of this track?
I can’t reveal that but I will say the vitriol in the lyrics actually came later. That’s something that tends to happen before; I’ll start a track and then realise what it’s about later. In a nutshell, it’s about being a voluntary prisoner in someone’s world.
What’s the emotional throughline of the EP?
Reflection, regret and redemption.
If the EP is a dialogue between artist and listener, what do you most want to convey about your artistry?
I just want to convey deep emotion which sounds really empty, if that makes sense. I also enjoy making very layered music with elements that people can pick up on the more and more they listen. I often find myself having to take things out because I’m a sucker for over-layering.
What’s the future looking like for Lauren Duffus? Are you living with this era a bit longer? Are you in the throes of conceiving your next project?
I am working on the next EP which will be another eclectic mix of tracks – some demos that I’ve sat on for ages and shared on IG. I’m very excited to be bringing to life. I’m also working on a remix for another artist which I’m really excited about.
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Release Radar:
Anysia Kym, Loraine James – Clandestine
Brooklyn’s Anysia Kym pours her bruised soliloquies over London producer Loraine James’ glitchy, grimy moodscapes. These stoned productions are dubby, disorientating but always hypnagogic: a kind of atonal digital hymn brittle enough to dissipate into the ether.
Natanya – Dangerous
“Is it worth being a Jezebel?”
Natanya continues her hot streak of Y2K-laced homages, this time with the vocal flex that is new single ‘Dangerous’. Co-produced with in-demand producer Jkarri, Natanya dovetails between pronounced ululations and staccato rap-singing, vocalising her frustrations at being kept a secret by an ambivalent lover. Artful RnB of the highest order.
anaiis – B.P.E (Sango Remix)
American producer and perennial remixer Sango enhances the tenebrous feel of the original by the underrated French-Senegalese singer-songwriter Anaiis and the Brazilian trio she created the 2024 collaborative album with. The rhythmic undertow is ramped up with a pace injection, delineated percussive ticks and a spaced-out outro.
Ebi Soda – feely
The prelude to the Brighton via London jazz outfit’s forthcoming album, ‘frank dean and Andrew’, ‘feely’ was born from the alchemy of “tangled cables, humming amps, and brassy exhalations in farmhouse recording sessions.” The cello-inflected number is the band leaning into the chaos of spontaneity, taking the circuitous route to a score-like number that thrums with tension and unease.
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Check out the accompanying Astral Realm playlist:
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Words: Shahzaib Hussain
Lead Image Credit: Raymond Alva
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Astral Realm: An Alternative Roundup #24 – clashmusic.com
