We chat with Bruno Major following the release of his newest track, “Just The Same”.
North London singer songwriter, Bruno Major, is one of those musicians who you, your Mum and everyone else you know are about to fall in love with. Writing emotive and powerful songs, his voice is guaranteed to send shivers down your spine with it’s originality and intimacy.
Coming quite late to the solo artist game, Bruno was a classically trained session guitarist before he wrote his first song and everything changed. He is now currently in the middle of a project in which he writes a new song for every new moon, and has 7 songs up which he will continue to add to until August. The newest one of these is “Just The Same” and it is, quite simply, stunning. We sat down with the singer songwriter to find out all about him and his latest project.
How would you describe your sound? Has it evolved as you have continued these monthly releases?
I consider the song above all else…the words, the chords and the melody, everything else is tailored to the song. I have been co-producing a lot of my music with my friend Phairo, so he has been a big part of the sound. I’m a jazz musician at heart, and everything I do comes from there ultimately. My songwriting comes from jazz, and The Great American Songbook, but the sonic aesthetic is British. I’m as inspired by Randy Newman as I am by James Blake, by Chet Baker as I am by Radiohead, by Kendrick Lemar as I am by Nick Drake, by D’Angelo as I am by Mr Hudson. All of these artists have influenced my sound in some way.
How have the residency shows in East London been going? Was doing them in a jazz club important to you?
I decided to release a song for every new moon. It feels right, to be in sync with the orbit of the planets. It has forced me to let go of my songs, which has been liberating. I wanted to play a show once a month, where I could showcase new music, and play with my talented friends at a party full of love and warmth. I don’t think a creation becomes art until it has been consumed by other minds. Playing live and writing has all been part of the same feeling for me, and Kansas Smitty’s has been the perfect venue.
“It’s funny, at school I was always told off for daydreaming, and now it’s my job.”
Tell us about your new track ‘’Just The Same”.
“Just The Same” was a gift. It arrived in my brain like an email nearly fully formed at midnight on the 2nd Feb 2017, it sounds like midnight to me. I recorded it the next day when I woke up, sent it off to be mixed and released it 3 weeks later. It’s about how unhealthy and illogical love can be. It is also the first song I have produced myself, so it’s an important one for me.
Where do you look for inspiration in your songwriting?
I hope my music comes across as honest, that’s important to me. I’m inspired by things people say, friends and family, people passing on the street, books, films. Sometimes I’ll build a song around a lyric, which has fallen quite accidentally from the mouth of someone I’m talking to, but more often than not my mind wanders until it stumbles across an idea. It’s funny, at school I was always told off for daydreaming, and now it’s my job.
What do you have planned for the rest of 2017?
For the rest of 2017 I’ll be making a song for each new moon, until August. It’s been an intense process without any let up, as soon as one song goes out I start on the next, so I’m looking forward to having more time to play live shows. We’ll be doing some festivals over the Summer and I’ll be writing another 12 songs. I’d like to do this over and over, until I run out of things to say.
