The side project of two prodigious names, Brijean was always a recipe for excellence. Brijean Murphy, the percussionist for the likes of Mitski and Toro y Moi, and Doug Stuart, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, combine to make Brijean, a bountiful melting pot of two creative forces.
The pair have just shared a new album, Macro, a meditative yet dynamic body of work that is driven by dazzling production work, forward-thinking use of rhythm and Murphy’s beautifully haunting vocals. We love the album, so asked Doug to give us a full track-by-track rundown.
Listen to the album…
Read Doug Stuart’s full thoughts…
“Get Lost”
This track grew from the song that follows it on the record. We wanted to make something cinematic and psychedelic to set up the Macro world and transition into “Euphoric Avenue”.
“Euphoric Avenue”
This one came out of a deep love for stereolab and astrud gilberto.
“Bang Bang Boom”
We had fun with this one. We kept laughing while we were writing it because a friend said it reminded them of Austin Powers. It’s a sonic palette that we’ve never really explored together; distorted drums, guitar, fuzzy bass. Brijean wrote the lyrics from an existential and contemplative place. She spent a lot of time thinking about the big bang theory, life, death and a potential afterlife, while fascinated by Nasa’s images of cannibalistic galaxies from their website.
“Afterlife”
We’ve both lost loved ones in the last couple years and have been forced to contemplate our own impermanence in the face of these losses. This is a vignette depicting one version of the journey into the next realm.
“Roxy”
This song is for Roxy, one of Brijean’s best and oldest of friends. Roxy is a plant scientist specialising in climate science and she told us a few years ago that she played our music most often to hundreds of trees in her greenhouse before planting them in Colorado this year. It is a song for Roxy and her aspen forest.
“Breathe”
“I want to do more things that don’t take currency, like taking walks and dancing where I please.” Feels like something we can all get with?
“Counting”
1,2, buckle my shoe.
“Counting Sheep”
This song is about longing for someone that you’ve lost. Be it a relationship that couldn’t last or a loved one that has passed.
“Workin’ On It”
Doesn’t it feel like the list just doesn’t end sometimes? This is a celebration of both striving and f***ing off in apathy at the same time.
“Scenic Route”
I wrote this song after buying a losing lottery ticket directly across the street from a store that sold the 2 billion dollar lotto ticket in Altadena, CA in 2023. Consequently, I started wondering how intuition and superstition might affect our lives, and how we’ll never really know.
“Roller Coaster”
Life is a condition that is always changing, and how we strive to dance through the ups and downs.
“Laura”
This is for my sister Laura who you hear at the beginning of this song talking about how cute a puppy’s face is.