Les Brown continues his endless musical evolution and exploration on his fittingly titled sophomore album The Next One — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Experimental music can take endless forms, and multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Brown appears to want to investigate as many of them as possible — and make up new combinations of his own. Influenced by world-class envelope pushers such as Tangerine Dream, King Crimson and Brian Eno, Brown’s second album is full of musical twists and turns.
Aptly named The Next One (its predecessor was The First One), the album — the second instalment in a trilogy — sees Brown continuing his journey of sound discovery as he invites his listeners to open their minds and walk the path with him. Although largely self-taught, his compositions encompass a vast variety of sounds and styles. Listening to earlier singles like Meat Grinder Variations No. 1 and Approaching Equinox, it’s clear Brown has the same spark and curiosity as so many of the greats in progressive and experimental music.
“My albums are meant to be like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: ‘You never know what you’re going to hear,’ he says. “If one tune isn’t your favourite flavour, try a different one. I blend music genres, geographic regions, languages, instruments to make unique music with emotion and feeling. Some songs invoke fun or playfulness, while other songs are closer to rock or jazz, and others are entrancing psychedelia, an auditory space to explore or be enveloped within.
“I write music to capture the sound and feeling of being in a new and unfamiliar, or perhaps mysterious, but always unthreatening place. I try to invoke feelings of being in a new space, real or imagined, for the listener to think ‘That’s interesting!’ or ‘I hadn’t thought of that before. Cool!’ I want the listener to enjoy experiencing music that is new and interesting, with no pretense or lessons; just the listener observing and coming along for the ride.”
Brown was born in Pennsylvania. He took piano lessons in grade school and is self-taught on guitars, drums, synthesizers and production. After university he moved to Colorado, where he fronted the jam-rock power trio Uncle Bob and drummed in the band Natchez Bound. Since returning to Pennsylvania, Les has played lead guitar in a jazz trio in addition to pursuing his own music.
Check out The Next One and watch some of Les Brown’s videos above, hear more from him below, and see what he’s up to on his website.
