Bruner On the Making Of ‘My Descent into Madness’
Is there a person/event that stimulated the creation of 'My Descent into Madness?'
’My Descent into Madness’ was created as a result of my most recent relationship as well as from the sum of all my past relationships. I wanted to bring attention to many modern relationship issues such as the role of instagram, post-lockdown awkwardness, and detachment from reality. All of these are issues I had to deal with myself, as I learned to cope with my losses–and occasional wins–from my past partners. It took a lot of time to get over it, but I feel like I definitely used this album to not only express my feelings, but also to grow as a person and musician.
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for 'My Descent into Madness?'
For the most part, ’My Descent into Madness’ was a similar process to my past EP Everybody Wants to be a Cowboy. I would sit down with my guitar to practice, and after a while end up with some interesting-sounding progressions or melodies, that I would ultimately record and expand with producer, Fritz Rango. However, for ’My Descent into Madness,’ Whippet was a little more involved creatively. This certainly caused some challenges, as most of them have a very avant-garde approach to melody writing, but oftentimes if I know I have a section where I want to have a solo or something hectic, I’ll just loop it and they’ll all hop on different instruments, sometimes even the mics, and they’ll just go absolutely bat shit. Honestly, I tend to find their stuff to be too much for me but I think that we worked great together in this more controlled environment.
What is your personal favorite song from 'My Descent into Madness' and why?
Oh lord, this is difficult. I really love all of the tracks. I think it would have to be track 5, “Another Slow Song.” I feel like this song does a pretty good job at taking you on a journey in just over three minutes. The first section was a great deal of fun to record. A trumpet leads the first verse with a mini section of recorder chords transitioning into the first chorus featuring piano with an almost ballad-like feel to it. Coming out of it, you’re sucked into this complete 180 which is now much more percussion driven, featuring bongos, a manipulated recording of our drummer, and more. We were trying to go for a kinda indie breakcore vibe and I think we pulled it off. Then, I let Fritz do a little synth bridge in the middle, which features more trumpets and more percussion. Then, we are taken to the illustrious “last chorus.” For so long we were sitting on just a loop of the first chorus with the piano ballad, but I always knew it wasn’t right. We decided there should be a guitar solo and on the first take I executed the current version, then we added other atmospheric elements. I sorta just yelled the chorus over all of that and I think it turned out pretty awesome. So yeah, that’s the track. I really like this song because it just checks off so many different boxes while remaining cohesive. It’s kind of the ultimate Bruner-Fritz-Whippet collaboration piece.
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
I was born and raised outside of Philly. As a young kid, I was always experimenting with many different sounds. Whether it was starting and stopping my dad’s CDs that he hid in the attic or banging on pots and pans, I felt like I was always making some kind of music. At the age of 6, I would sit in my closet and play melodies on my recorder and toy guitar. I produced my first songs on my dad’s iPad with GarageBand, and eventually I got my first computer. I’ve been making music for years now with many friends that I grew up with, working on countless different songs and many weird “sonic explorations”. That said, I never really had the time for my own music. Finally, in April, I was able to release my first project, Everybody Wants to be a Cowboy. With the help of Fritz Rango and some select musicians from the band Whippet, I felt like this was the first thing I created that I could say I was proud of. We experimented with many different genres, ultimately taking after primarily modern indie rock, but adding a country twang to it. Now, with the release of ’My Descent into Madness,’ I feel like I’ve tapped into many more creative sounds beyond what I did on my debut. I’m super excited to let the world hear it.
What do you enjoy most about performing live and connecting with your audience?
Last month, for the first time ever, I was able to perform at “Whippet Live” with some of my good friends from my hometown. It was a really fun change of pace. I normally just record guitar and then vocals so for my first time performing, I sorta had to teach myself to play both parts at once. Playing a demo through your iPhone doesn’t even compare. But I think I’m starting to get it. The majority of Whippet Live was kinda for shits and giggles, but people showed up. Some people gave me props afterwards. It was really exciting to get to share my music face to face and see the impact it had. It was a good time, but definitely just more of a precursor to the real world of performing in the future. I hope to get some gigs this spring/summer maybe to showcase some of ’My Descent into Madness’ that the world has yet to see live. I guess that’s the next step for me!