New Singles Worth Hearing
With the release of his single ‘I’m in a Band,’ Charlie Bruber takes the best parts of some classic genres and builds a fresh sound. Laced with authentic character, addictive melodies & a combination of natural and analog instrumentation, the song boasts the aesthetic of indie-pop anthems.
‘I’m in a Band’ is about my experience as a co-leader and devoted band mate to a group that let me and themselves down with our high hopes and expectations that ultimately led to heartbreak & revealed our flaws as idealistic young artists. It is a song about being in a band in your teens/twenties. For this song I wanted to find a synth patch that nobody had heard before or at least one that demanded attention. Something that washed over them like a sonic wave. I remember when I finally landed on that intro patch; it hit me in a way that made me kind of stop everything. I knew it was something special and the rest of the song needed a lot of space and minimal instrumentation."
Although the single speaks volumes for the artist, ‘I’m in a Band’ is only one of a series of singles to be released a month at a time until the full album is completed.
"I have a broad scope of influence on the sounds I come up with and I look at this song as one aspect of my personality. Conceptually, I see each of these songs as different aspects of it. This has allowed me to commit to and follow through with every song idea. I try to quiet the mind and listen to how my inner voice guides the process." says the songwriter on creating the album.
In 2017, Charlie began picking up jazz piano lessons from Greg Theisen, a teacher at McPhail who helped him compose jazz charts and eventually gave him more confidence with his voice as an artist. Theisen, who passed away in 2021, played a profound role in Bruber's life and his influence continues to guide him.
After graduating college, he met drummer, good friend and frequent collaborator, Murphy Janssen. The two of them started performing as a rhythm section around the Twin Cities with various groups including Black Market Brass on Colemine Records (of which they are both active members). Murphy plays drums on all of these new songs by Charlie Bruber and co-writes and produces alongside Bruber in the project Charlie.Murphy.
They opened the Minneapolis recording studio 8VB in the summer of 2019, giving a creative home to many collaborators to experiment and explore. Bruber spent the next few years in 8VB crafting the songs that would become this solo project.
"Each song has led me to a new place artistically. I think never giving up on ideas allows you to grow and pushes you to rise beyond certain influences. Sometimes I’ll be working on a song and think ‘oh yeah I know where this comes from.’ I have a large record collection and I can pick out different stacks of albums that influenced the arrangements & production. I’ve just spent years listening to so much music.”
“Writing sometimes happens in a natural flow and at this point I feel more as an observer of the process. As I finish up this set of songs, new ideas have come up that will be a part of the next batch. They are completely different and I’m pushing to embrace another rediscovery.”
‘I’m in a Band’ is available now on all streaming platforms alongside the follow up single ‘Weakest Link,’ with new songs & bonus material being released each month.
