photo: Julie Calbert
“From the medieval and postmodern corners of Brussels come BRNS, a mesmerizing experiment in dusk, dance, and the fullness of sound. Like the dark-yet-vibrant images of Brussels’ artist Yardz, this quartet of talented multi-instrumentalists weaves together tunes that are mystical, moody and insatiably catchy.”
This is how the Fusion announced the performance of BRNS at this year’s festival. There is nothing to add to that. On the occasion of the release of their album Wounded a few weeks ago, we talked about music by Animal Collective, Wu Lyf, Huey Lewis & The News, Sepultura and Beastie Boys.
Animal Collective My Girls
One of the first songs we ever heard by Animal Collective. My Girls worked as a great gateway to Animal Collective’s universe. Their work and career is an indication that pop and experimental music can be combined in a very efficient way and made us want to write music in that same spirit. Animal Collective has an indubitable influence on modern pop music.
Wu Lyf Heavy Pop
This is a band we have consistently been compared to! We don’t think we have much in common, besides the fact that we shout, use large reverbs and have synths… Furthermore, we wrote our whole mini album Wounded before we heard about them. Beyond the strong marketing plan and orchestrated buzz this album remains one of the nicest surprises of 2011.
Huey Lewis & The News The Power of Love
We are fond of classic 80s and 90s films like Wayne’s World, Ace Ventura and Spinal Tap. This song comes from the first episode of Back to the Future and is definitely part of our musical background: hearing it brings back a ton of memories. It’s not exactly a direct influence, but listening to it was and is still a delight.
Sepultura Territory
Only 2 of the 4 of us listened to metal during our teens, and Sepultura was one of the greatest bands at the time! Rhythm and percussion are central in their music and those also play a big role in our music. We use drums and various percussion instruments (bells, xylophones, maracas,…), play on time changes and weird patterns. Max Cavalera’s singing isn’t as melodic as ours though…!
Beastie Boys Sabotage
As we type this interview, Antoine, our bass player is wearing a Beastie Boys t-shirt! When bands like BB that come from a punk background begin making Hip Hop or any other type of music, they always have a particular touch. When we started to listen to music, Hello Nasty came out and that was a turning point in hip hop. Their imagery and identity is very original and their videos are always crazy. I see some similarities in this song and Rage Against The Machine for example, even if the latter aren’t as « funny » than the Beastie Boys…! RIP Adam « MCA » Yauch.
