Coming from the release of their seven track album, BRAJ unravel the vibrant themes behind their visuals and early 2000’s sound.
Coming from the midst of Melbourne’s fifth lockdown, R&B/hip hop duo, BRAJ, chat with Happy about the colour behind their album, BRAJTOPIA.
Both Jordan Kellaway and Nev Benjamin are in agreement on the importance of experimenting with their sound and not being afraid to have a bit of fun with it.
HAPPY: Hey there Nev and Jordan! Where do you find yourself today?
BRAJ: Hi there! Just having a coffee in our separate homes, amidst the fifth lockdown in Melbourne.
HAPPY: How did you two become a duo? What inspired the name BRAJ?
BRAJ: Nev and I met through Nev’s younger brother, he and I were in the same year level in high school, we were actually making music together before Nev and I started working.
As for the name, we get this question a lot! Generally whenever Nev, Lucas (Touring bassist) and I are hanging out we’ve called each other Braj instead of something like bro. So when it came time to figure out a name for us, it was the first thing that came to mind, we just kinda rolled with it.
HAPPY: Congrats on the release of your album Brajtopia! Tell us a bit about it…
BRAJ: Thank you! Brajtopia was definitely a passion project for the both of us, it took roughly about a year to create. Funny thing is I don’t think either of us realised we were making an album until about halfway through the process. We were just jamming and having a good time experimenting with different styles and ideas. It was all very organic. Eventually we were kind of just like, “woah, we have like four full songs here”, and from there on I think our minds finally clicked onto album mode.
From the get-go we wanted it to sound as fun as it was to create it. For the marketing we stuck to a bright colour palette and whimsical fonts (it took us a long time to decide on a font). We did a full performance wearing matching Oodies in a backyard, just the kind of stuff that makes us look a bit silly. But the album is supposed to be a fun experience, so why not, as the artists, have a bit of fun too?
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HAPPY: Who were your sonic influences for the album?
BRAJ: If we had a dollar for every time we’ve name-dropped these people, we’d be very very rich I think it goes without saying that Pharrell and Justin Timberlake’s whole early 2000’s discography was on constant rotation when we were making Brajtopia. The chords and melodies we used, we tried to make as “from-that-era” as possible. While the drums are laced with the same kind of beatboxing as something you’d find in a Timbaland beat.
But Nev and I listen to so much music across the board, he’s an unapologetic fan of the Black Eyed Peas, and I listen to a lot of metal music, everything we listen to eventually finds its way into a track in some capacity.
HAPPY: What is one track you’re particularly proud of?
BRAJ: (Jordan) I think Impatient is crazy dope, that beat is just mental. I don’t listen to as much hip-hop as I used to but I’d really like to pursue that kind of melodic rap/singing style I do in that song in the future. There used to be A Tribe Called Quest sample in the drop that we lost our minds over, but for obvious reasons we couldn’t get the sample cleared, but I still think it hits regardless.
(Nev) I feel as though Don’t Stop is the track I’m most proud of as the instrumentation is incredibly simple but really fills the silence well. We experimented with this one a fair bit using an acoustic sounding drum kit, vocoders and a bloody hard guitar riff that took yonks to perfect. The song means a lot to both Jordan and I because it is a passion piece about our persistence to rise up in the music industry.
HAPPY: Your sound has a real nostalgic feel to it, yet completely new!! How have you managed to collide these two sounds?
BRAJ: I think it comes down to the influences we incorporate. We are fascinated by the minimalist approach to R&B and Pop that the early 2000’s used to have. There was just something about the simple aggression that those beats carried. Every pocket was utilised perfectly. I guess that’s something we always strive to embody. But we also love a lot of new music too. Nev loves artists like Denzel Curry, Oliver Tree and Ski Mask The Slump God, and I’m a big fan of new R&B like ¿Téo? and Majid Jordan.
Ultimately I think we just put new spins on classic sounding beats. Repurposing older ideas for a new generation of listeners.
HAPPY: Nev, what advice would you give to producers just starting their music careers?
BRAJ: (Nev) It’s not all about your gear, but what you can do with what you have. Learn how to play an instrument, as that’s where the essence of music derives from. Just keep practicing with all the resources available to you and don’t forget to just have fun with it.
HAPPY: Jordan, how would you describe BRAJ’s sound?
BRAJ: (Jordan)In a word? Fun!
HAPPY: What can we expect for the future of BRAJ?
BRAJ: Plenty, we have a live play-through of the whole album coming out very soon. And after that? We have already begun discussing the next project.
HAPPY: Thanks guys!!
BRAJ: Thanks so much for having us! Make sure to follow us on all of our social media so you don’t miss a single thing!
And go stream Brajtopia!
