Brainorchestra on Taking Risks and Doing You

Independent music is a gamble.

Without the benefit of a multinational corporation’s financial backing and access to millions of points of market research data, the independent musician has to rely on their own talent, wits, and above all, instinct. The perfect alchemy of these three elements is still a risk however, but one that the indie artist must take. One artist that has continually taken these risks is Brainorchestra. Hailing from New Jersey, Brainorchestra is a multi talented producer and wordsmith. Crafting his own brand of dusty, raw Hip-Hop, Brainorchestra has forged his own path in the music. Fresh off his latest European tour we spoke with the indie mastermind himself.

I wanted to jump in straight away and say congrats on getting Big Brain on Fat Beats! Let's talk a little bit about 'Big Brain'. What is this album about for you? 

It's really like my first full length album because every other project I put out was almost like an EP and they're short. The longest project I've put out so far, was 'Marmalade' and that was 10 tracks with a bunch of other producers including myself on it. I felt like this is my first album. My first official , self-produced, long play, full length album. It just shows a lot of what I have going on as far as beats and rhymes. Like what I was doing at that point, how I was trying to show my range. Even though it's Rap music, I wanted to show my range and bring people to another listening standpoint. Like it's not just like beats and loops you know? I've read a couple of reviews and shit and people are like "some of the beats are just repetitive" or whatever, but it's like you know how people are. With 'Big Brain' I was trying to bring musicality, so I wanted to portray that with the Hip-Hop shit. Whether it's like chopped up beats or a couple of loops here and there. I want to show people what I make on a daily basis. It's not just like you know, drum breaks and it's not just the regular shit all the time you know? Well not regular but just like common misconceptions. Like "he's got an MPC so must be making this etc". They aren't hearing the other shit you're doing with other programs when you don't explain that, so I tried to put it on audio to kind of explain that.

How did this album come together as opposed to some of your other projects? Like was there a different process to it? 

Yeah so it was like mid COVID and I had released two vinyl. I did 'Message to You' and 'My Persona'. I had a few rap records that were really sick and I produced some songs so I put them in a playlist with a bunch of other beats and it just kind of sounded like something.  I just thought it sounded like something you know? So over the pandemic months (almost a whole eight, nine months) I had made a bunch of songs and had some friends come over and make the tracks with me. Jamonte, Skunkz, my boy Dre, Mussolini, Butch Dawson. Everybody you know?  So I had a lot of songs but I felt like those songs really described how I was trying to come at this whole shit . Like being myself, expressing what I've been through, what I'm doing and where I'm trying to be and how I'm gonna get there. So that was really how it came together. It started with a couple songs and I was like, 'Oh, this sounds like something.'

So it was almost like a coalescence of all these different things? The stars aligned and it all fit together like that kind of thing?

Yeah once I was in album mode, then things started because that was the first time I really felt like I was in album mode. I felt I was putting together like a long piece of work. You know people's attention spans are short and shit, but I was like fuck it. This was about a moment in time. 

I mean talking about your other releases, 'My Persona, 'Message to You' and  'E-Town General' were released within sort of a 12 month period, right?

Yeah. Well, I released 'E-Town General' with Copenhagen Crates, at the top of last year. Then a few months later, I put out 'Message to You' and then I did a vinyl release for 'My Persona', which was released in 2020. It was like people really fucked with it so I was like, 'Okay, let me try something.' Let me give a project that I already put out the vinyl treatment and see how it goes. People fucked with it! It came out in real pandemic shit, so people were really fucking with the album. So yeah three records in one period.

Was there any specific challenges with releasing three different projects, basically, in one year?

Personally nah man because I feel the past three years (since 2019 when I put out 'From The 908' , my first vinyl) I noticed that I have people that fuck with Rap, Beats and both things, so I figured let me put a Rap album out with a label, they press up the vinyl, then I take that money and I just put something out for people who like Beats and shit. I was just working on a lot of beats at the time, like I was rapping, but I was working on mad beats. I had so many beats and I was making little fake projects you know? Like pre-projects and 'Message to You' was one of them. Like 'Message to You' was one of those where I started making it and then I just went through like a two, three week period of making joints for it because I was trying to really put together some shit.

So it wasn't really hard, man. I mean the artist thing for someone like me, is just a budgeting and finances thing. Like when I invest in a record, how am I going to make sure I get that money back? I'm not pressed about making money like that because it comes and goes. I have supporters I'm thankful for so as long as I get my money back for what I've put up, I'm good. But yeah besides that 'Message to You' sold very well. It sold it out in like three weeks, which is the fastest I've ever sold a record out. So that's why I ended up doing the vinyl treatment for 'My Persona' because I'm like 'Man, fuck that.' Like I got the bread for it and I got a little bread so I could kinda chill out; let me re-release something and work on this album because I really started working on 'Big Brain' like end of 2020 type shit.

I think one of the things that is really admirable and impressive about your career is your passion for that independence and creating a fanbase. I mean, can you explain briefly why you're so passionate about that drive for independent creation and supporting your fanbase?

Yeah it's because I love what I do, you know? I love this shit. I love waking up and being this. Without my supporters I wouldn't be able to wake up and make more shit that people want to hear or give people something they haven't heard you know what I'm saying? I feel like you got to be thankful. You also got to be smart. When I noticed that I was in a realm of people who were buying physical stuff and supporting physical music, it just clicked in my head like "Damn, I would love to have my music on vinyl." I collect records, I sample records, I buy my friend's records; so the drive really came from not wanting to wait. My mentor was like "Don't wait. Don't wait for a label. Don't wait for a manager. Don't wait for none of that shit." Like if you have the money to do it, just do it. The worst that's gonna happen is that you're gonna make an investment. You're either gonna make that money back slow or probably not at all. But I mean, that's just the name of the game. No person in music making money did it without taking a risk, so the risk was seeing where my support system was. That's really what it's about. Taking risks, investing in yourself and seeing it work out. Like now I can live my life and be the artist that I want. That I've always wanted to be. You're always working towards that but that's where it comes from. It's like people genuinely showing support. 'Big Brain' is starting to get sold and distributed globally, so that should mean something. It says something and it means something, like it's affecting people. Like this is beyond me. So that's what really makes it, it's like the shit becomes beyond you. The music, the art; it's not about you. Once you put it out it's for the world, you know? So that's where that indie drive comes from, where every time somebody buys a record, or somebody sends a message like "Yo I just got my shit in the mail" and like that shit just makes you want to keep doing it. Like damn, like this is crazy!

I get you! I mean, talking about worldwide appeal, you just come with this European tour, which was like dope to see! You got to the UK, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. What was that experience like? 

It was crazy because again it was like one of those “let me try something” type of deals. Let me see what's going on. I've been in the US and I've been playing music out here for years since I was 16 you feel me? I'm 27 now so since I was 16 I've been performing and people only know me for shit 2014 onwards because that was the SoundCloud era. But before that it was word of mouth in high school and at parties and shit. That's what we were on. It was all community shit before it got to be saturated with the internet.

But yeah Europee, it was just crazy dude. I got to sell records to people in London. I sold records to people in Germany and fucking France and Amsterdam and shit, so it was just nuts. I was like let me hit up people in each city that's doing shit and let me see if I can make something happen. I spent a few months connecting with people and before COVID, I was supposed to go and do some real crazy shit, right? Like nine cities. It all fell through and when I started planning again, a lot of people got back to me but some just weren't with the shit anymore. There were certain people though like my man's Ivan and Sonny Jim. Shout outs to them. I also linked up with Platypus Records and PATTA cuz I'm cool with some of the guys there so that brought the Amsterdam connection. Also my boy Kareem in Geneva. He's a producer. My mans is alsogood in Italy. We have a whole EP together so that shit just made sense. He's a DJ out there too and people fuck with him. My streams in Milan went through the roof when we dropped that shit, so it just made sense.

I took a risk though. I was like "Let me see if I can go. Let me see if I could drop out and survive in a whole nother part of the world for almost two months." That was literally my shit. I wasn't even worried about like shows packing out and fucking shit like that. I'm just trying to go! All that other stuff fell into place. It was cool because we could plan a show on any day but then I can, like, go to Amsterdam a week later and do that. Through that I met so many people. So many good people that have been just pushing my shit much farther. That's how I got the Juno and the Rush Hour connect and shit like that. I was able to talk with Fat Beats through that too and show them what I've been on. I mean it was just a ridiculous experience. I would definitely do it again. I would in a heartbeat actually because I'm back home and I feel like Europe was like a year ago right? I was just there last month so I'm like, do I need to go back?! Haha!

Yeah you already caught the bug and now it's well and truly attached haha!

Yeah cause I was there for so long! You know I was in London for 20 days, bro. So I was basically living there! By day 8 I already got the underground down, I knew where to get weed haha! I was living!

You mentioned performing since you were 16. What's your favorite thing about performing? 

Oh man, just expressing ourselves through language. Art and music in all its forms is like language. When you are performing and  people appreciate it, no one has to use words. It's all like body language and energy. It just means alot for somebody to feel like that. When I go to a show; I really want to go see that show or whoever is performing. I'm paying money to see it. I'm paying money to get merch. I fuck with all that because who the fuck wants to stay in their bedroom all the time? Staying in all day making good records, like respectfully, is cool. I know people who don't perform at all and they make tons of money and have tons of fans working from home but listen I need to be out there. I need to see what my shit is doing to people in the flesh. Like you can only experience that shit when you're performing. It's like going to a gallery and seeing your favorite art. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, you could see a fucking high definition, high resolution photo on your computer or phone but when you have a 14 foot painting in front of you, it's very different. I feel like when we put our shows on, we're all doing the same shit. We're artists in some form of a space. It could be shown in a gallery form or a live show form or whatever. Also it never gets old. Whether it's 2 people or fucking 100 people,1000 people. That shit never get old.

Yeah I like that. That point about it being an art performance is really important. I think with the internet and everything nowadays, the grind is not exactly the same. 

Well, here's the thing though. The grind isn't the same but what I learned from my mentor is if you implement them old ways, it never goes out of fashion. You know what I'm saying? So if you implement that into whatever grind you're on it just adds to it. People don't understand that, they think that like "Oh, this guy is doing it like this. So this is the way." Even like timeless, big artists tweet shit and I'm just like "This guy doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about." So many people like me aren't taking half of the unsolicited, bullshit advice that people give online and we're global doing what we want. We making music, connecting with fans, connecting with real people; so the grind isn't the same but you could do that same grind and just separate yourself from the herd. That's my biggest thing with the hustle. You gotta separate yourself. You gotta see what's up but do it your own way. Like nothing's new it's just how you do it and the question is how are you gonna do it differently? How are you doing something that someone has heard before, in a way that is going to make them come back to it and feel like it's dope or worth being listened to or purchased or whatever. I'm used to that. I love so many different types of music, but I love making beats and I know that there's so many producers out there but there's a level to my shit. How I put it out and how I grind gets people to notice that. What I'm realizing is people notice how hard you work, but you might not see that because of all this other online shit telling you what you're '“supposed” to do. 

It's the classic “each their own”, isn't it? 

Yeah and it's really only Hip-Hop and Pop music where this happens. Like they don't deal with this shit in any other genre. They don't give a fuck as long as it's good music. So that's how I'm approaching it. I don't give a fuck. I'm gonna just put the shit out. If you like it, if it goes on a playlist; I'm not stressing for none of that. What I'm stressing about is what we were talking about before. Being myself, operating in the world as me and having people notice that and fucking with it. That's all. I mean like, I don't mean no extra shit but you know, it's a new day.

So obviously you rap and you make beats. Do you have a general process when you're doing that? Does it differ for when you're writing rhymes to when you're making beats? 

My processes start in a spontaneous fashion. Like I'll be playing video games and I'll just be chilling, watching some shit and in my head I'll just hear something. Like a drum pattern or whatever else and I'll be like cool let’s work. Then I get to it. I've been in a very experimental but comfortable space where I can just approach the machines and just start doing what I need to do. As far as writing rhymes; I only know if I make a beat, before I'm done with it, I know what I want to write because it just strikes. It just hits me a certain way where I'm like, okay this is it for me. So as far as writing I usually take my time. Beats? I can make beats all day. I don't really do that like all day type shit because I don't like getting burnt out or nothing, but as far as writing I just need to be feeling it. If I write two bars and then I get stuck I’ll stop but with beats if I get stuck, I just keep going. With words I feel like I'm trying to be really intentional, so if it's not right there... I mean it's the same with the beats too but I just know how to produce better than rap in my honest opinion. Like I really know what I'm doing when it comes to beats but language is a whole nother instrument, so I'm still learning that.

I guess it's a never ending process with language, right? Because, as cliche as it sounds,  you're always finding your voice, you know? You're not going to feel the same today as you do tomorrow.

Yeah, like there's times where I'll make a bunch of beats, start writing a song and it won't hit me but then I wake up in the morning and I'll get right to it. That's also a process of mine. I wake up very early and I'll start early. Like, I'll start making music at like 7, 8 in the morning because I wake up and I'll hear something. These are the first thoughts that I get off in a day. Smoke, coffee. rice and shit and then I'll just go on with my day. Lately, I've been chillin and then working at night, but the process changes and shit. Most of the time though I wake up early, I get my day started like super early. I love to wake up and see the sunrise or be right there when it's like, about to be like full morning. I like it because no one's bothering me hah. It's not just that, it's really more like a fresh day. Another day to get going, so what am I going to talk about? What am I going to make? 

Yeah I get you everyone's got their own way of tackling the day you know? 

All this shit is about time management. We got to give ourselves time to work, to relax, and when that turns into a schedule, life is chill you know? 

So I mean, in terms of influences, who would you say some of your biggest are? 

My earliest inspirations were Redman, L.O.X and Dipset. Also Eric Sermon, DJ Premier and shit like that. Then once I started listening to Hip-Hop more I stumbled across Dilla, Madlib and MF DOOM. Those are really the main inspirations musically as far as Hip-Hop. I like a lot of the 70's Soul and Jazz shit like that too. So many to name I mean I have boxes of the shit. I've been listening to a lot of Psych Rock bands recently like this band Kayak and just wild shit like that, you know? Just really in that bag. That's what really has been inspiring me. Discovering older music that was way ahead of its time. Finding gems that stood the test of time and that come through with people like Dilla, Alchemist and Flying Lotus and shit like that. Like those types of people, they shit bangs no matter what time period you know what I mean?

Yeah I think a lot of people get touched by those greats. I think people in the future are gonna be like, “yeah, these guys didn't know what they had in front of them.”

Yeah that's exactly what I feel like too. From the experimentation of Flying Lotus to the more "minimal" sound like Alchemist. It's just interesting man because of the way we can portray this sound in so many different ways and be ahead of our time because it's how it hits the emotions you know?  Those people really are the people that really get mentioned as far as producers go for me. A couple of rappers like Rakim, Big L and Jay Z and shit too as far as lyrics. Just so, so many people. There's so many people that did the work and showed how timeless shit could be. That's what I feel like people should strive for. Making timeless art. It doesn't matter if it's what's popular now, what was popular then; there's a place for everything. So that's what all those people really showed me and inspired me in.

I also think it's fair to say you're probably seen as quite notoriously New Jersey as well. How did New Jersey influence you?

I mean, just being from Elizabeth and New Jersey in general, but North Jersey specifically like Elizabeth, Newark. It's just a wild wild dynamic. I mean, you're living in a city with some importance to the whole country like as far as our import export with the harbor and the politics here. Also our graduating classes are really big in our educational system and it just shows a level of diversity. I lived in a melting pot of a city. It was very much like Spanish, Black, Caribbean, South American and a couple like Europeans here and there. I'm Portuguese so I was one of the few European people out there. I mean, there's a lot of Portuguese people out there on the East Coast in general but in Elizabeth and Newark especially because of ties with Portugal and Italians and shit like that. But besides that it's a lot of minorities, you feel me?

So you're living in this diverse city and you're consuming so much culture as a kid and throughout life because of the food and music. We had Jersey Club and then we was playing Bachata, Salsa, Merengue and Hip-Hop at the parties. We were mixing all that shit, being cool with mad people including Haitians and Dominicans. Along with that you have just how society works with institutionalized racism and the prison pipeline. Like when I was in high school, 15-16 year olds were getting arrested. It wasn't no little bullshit neither. People were getting arrested for drugs, guns, violence and all that shit.

I moved out of the state actually. I live in another state now but once I moved, it really showed me how much living somewhere like that you could get comfortable. You learn a lot but you could get stuck. So I'm using myself as a vessel to show people what I've been through and what my city is about. The beautiful things about it and the fucked up shit. It makes me who I am. I give alot of account to Redman because he's always shouting out Newark and Redman is very much a motherfucker from Newark. Like he's very much a Newark motherfucker haha. He is the most northern New Jersey ever. Redman’s such a prime example of what a common New Jersey dude who likes Rap music is going to be like. Just a wild ass motherfucker haha. We were all just wild as shit you know what I'm saying? We lived in the wild ass areas, with wild shit going on and it teaches you a lot man. So I take pride in that shit. I love where I'm from and what it has taught me.

Yeah, for sure. I appreciate that answer man.

Yeah, absolutely. People need to realize where they from. Like if you from somewhere that got no culture I can understand why you really don't got a lot to talk about, but I can write fucking books about parts of my life. One year in high school, me at a certain age, you know? Jersey is a really wild place in a good way and in a lot of crazy ways but that's what makes us who we are right? When we're kids and we're growing up, we're consuming what's around us. That's what makes us who we are. That's why we like the shit that we like and talk the way we talk.

Who are some artists, who are on the come up, that you think people should know about?

My boy Hod (Baseville). Shouts to my Jersey homie.  My homie Dre was also on the album. He's ill, super ill.  My boy Roper Williams making beats. Nasty, he got production credits with so many people but I feel like it's very niche. He does a lot of crazy like advertising shit too on a low key. I feel like I want to see more and more people talk about it and like he's sick. 

What's next for Brainorchestra?

Definitely another beat tape and I'm working on the album for next year. So two things right there. There's so much shit going on but from me specifically, that's what you can expect. More beats, bombs and shit in the next coming year.

Maybe revisiting the pre-COVID era Euro tour that you had planned too? 

Absolutely, definitely going back to Europe next year!

Follow Brainorchestra on IG, Twitter, Facebook and his own site.

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