Symphonic and soothing, rei brown’s minimalistic soundscape is providing all the vibes we could possibly need to melt into a worry-free weekend. Collaborating with Lecx Stacy on “White Honda”, the duo marry sparkling electronic beats with rising synths that provide equal space for introspection or a hand-raising party.
“I had such an amazing time making this song with Lecx. I love and respect everything he makes and we were able to inject so much of ourselves into the song. I love how we were able to tell this really delicate story about vulnerability through an insanely hard song. I still hear the ending of it and uncontrollably bop my head every time,” explains the artist.
Proving himself to be just as hard-hitting and dynamic as his melodies, we sat with rei to discuss the new single, his forthcoming debut album, Xeno, and what it was like working with Lecx Stacy.
Scroll below to stream the single and for the full interview now…
Hey Rei, how are you?
Hi I’m good! I’m on tour with Keshi and currently in LA.
What have you been up to this morning?
First thing I did was bleach and dye my hair pink and then I edited some videos.
You teamed up with Lecx Stacy on this track, how did you two meet and what was your time working together like?
So Lecx and I met virtually during the pandemic and started making music together over zoom calls and exchanging song ideas. I was a huge fan of his music and production and was so excited to work with him. I think we both like to have fun making interesting and weird ideas so it was just always a blast and felt more like play than work.
Congratulations on the release of “White Honda”. Talk to us about the creative process behind the track, what was the inspiration behind it?
Thank you so much! So it began with me sending Lecx this pretty sparse, old project of mine that sounded nothing like “White Honda”. I was really surprised and excited with what he sent back and we just continued to take turns adding sections and layers until it became “White Honda”. Outside of our sessions, Lecx and I bonded a lot over nu-metal and 90s video game music and I think a lot of that influence seeped into the production.
And the name, what inspired that? Do you have a white Honda?
That was all Lecx, and from an experience he had and I’m so grateful for him being generous in bringing that to the song.
And let’s talk Xeno, your upcoming debut album! How are you feeling about dropping your debut album?
Xeno is just a whole new era for me. It’s felt so frustrating to not be able to share with the world till now, but soon everyone will get to experience it!
What should we expect from the upcoming project?
Xeno is kind of like a season of Black Mirror. It exists in its own universe with its unique brand of sci-fi. There are some common motifs and themes across the album but each song is like a different episode and feels unique.
Do you have a favourite track from the album?
It’s honestly changing all the time but today I would probably say “White Honda”. I never thought I would have a song out like this. Even today when I listen to it I get so excited and can’t help but move to the music.
Tell us one fact about yourself that we wouldn’t be able to find out in a press release!
I love rice. Growing up I used to eat so much rice that sometimes restaurants would run out lol.
Aside from all of the exciting stuff discussed, what else are you excited about for this year?
I’m going to be touring some more in September with Joji! I’m really hoping to do some headline shows as well so I can play the new album live. Other than that I’m also just dying to make some more music again!