Breanna Lynn had recently revamped her band, Bre-L as a solo project and is working hard to finish her highly anticipated second album! I had the chance to talk to her about the initial creation of Bre-L, how she had grown musically during the band’s hiatus, and what we can expect in the future!
How important is music to you?
It’s cliche to say, but music means everything to me. I’ve been singing since I could talk, to the chagrin of everyone who could hear me. You basically couldn’t get me to shut up. My teachers hated me. At one point, I even tried walking away from music because I was so burned out on it, but I realized pretty quickly that it’s the most important part of my life and something I never want to live without.
What had inspired you to initially start Bre-L?
When I first started the band Bre-L before taking on the name for my solo work, it consisted of me and three guys I had been playing with for years on another solo project of mine. At that point, we had been jamming together for so long that we started wondering what it would be like to write together. Thus, Bre-L was born.
How did you meet band members R.E.L., Nate Lichtenberger, and Sonny Kennelly?
We met at the most random places. I met Nate through a family friend, R.E.L. came through the magic that is Craigslist, and Sonny was a bass player at my church. It just kind of happened that they were all looking for a group to play with and I met them at the right time. We pretty quickly became a family.
How did you and the band react to the success of your debut album, “I Think About You”?
We were shocked because it was so random and unexpected. After we recorded ‘I Think About You’, I found out that I had been accepted into Pepperdine University for the upcoming school year. So I decided to ‘be responsible’ and take a break from music in order to pursue my education. R.E.L., Sonny, and Nate all had other projects they had started as well, so we decided to move forward in our individual careers, leaving Bre-L behind for the time being. We did no marketing, had no social media accounts open, nothing! But then all of the sudden, our cover of Grimes’ song Oblivion went viral by landing on a Spotify playlist, creating a worldwide following without us even knowing it! When we realized the success the band inadvertently had without us even trying, we laughed about it and talked about how we wish it had been that easy with everything we did!
I’ve read that after the bands 6 year hiatus, your sound has changed from alternative rock to “indie-soul/pop-funk”. What had sparked this evolution?
The evolution was necessary because of the change in Bre-L’s lineup. As the lead singer and point person of Bre-L, I personally decided to pick up this project again because of the success it had 6 years ago, building off of that momentum and reaching out to our fan-base that has waited patiently for another album. However, with my former band members starting families and working on their own projects on stage and behind the scenes, I decided to take on the persona of Bre-L on my own (It’s a shortening of my name Breanna Lynn anyway so… it’s not a stretch). I knew that trying to replicate the magic that my group and I had without them would be crazy – we had something unique. So I decided to really dive into the self discovery process on my own and figure out what kind of music reflected the person that I had become. During our hiatus, I started avidly listening to iconic artists like Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Sly and the Family Stone, while also jamming to modern artists like Harry Styles, The New Respects, The Weeknd and Dua Lipa. I decided to take inspiration from the magic of old time funk/soul, and combine it with the modern appeal of Billboard Chart topping pop in order to create music that was both sonically reminiscent of the golden era of funk, while still appealing to today’s audience.
How have you personally grown during the hiatus?
I grew in a bunch of different ways during the break, but the biggest area of growth for me was probably my relationship with the idea of success. Before Bre-L, I was pursuing artistry in other capacities and was so frustrated by the ‘lack of success’ I was having in the music industry. Then when we started Bre-L, we had success without even trying. It made me realize that when you focus on what you love and do it because it fulfills you, not only does success come to you, but your definition of success changes. Being famous or recognized by the masses doesn’t define you anymore, it’s just an added benefit of doing what you love. That was a hard lesson to learn, but after the break, I felt more grounded in my identity outside of music and felt that I could handle the success or rejection that would come my way when pursuing music again.
Could you tell me a little bit about your upcoming album?
I am so excited to release this album because it’s so different from anything I’ve done before, primarily in the fact that I am self producing it… which is terrifying. Every other album I’ve done, whether it be my former solo projects or with my Bre-L band members has been me collaborating with other people in order to make my vision come to fruition. Now, I get to have full control over every part of the process, which I am stoked about. I’m also working in a genre I am fairly new to, creating an album that has a funky vibe, reminiscent of the 70’s and 80’s. It’s the most personal, yet most fun project I’ve ever worked on.
How long did it take to complete your sophomore album? Or is it still in the works?
It is still in the works! It’s funny because this quarantine is actually what motivated me to start it. I had always shied away from producing my own material because I was intimated by the process, but when I was stuck in the house bored out of my mind, I knew it was time for me to take the leap and create the album I had been dreaming about for years. I have the first few songs done and am currently working on the rest of the track list now. Depending on the coronavirus situation and the strategy surrounding releasing new music during a pandemic, it should be coming out sometime mid this year.
Is there anything in particular that you’re excited about once it’s released?
The thing I’m most excited about is playing the album track list live. There is a big question on what that is going to look like during these uncertain times, but whatever comes from this, I can’t wait to get on that stage again and connect with my audience over the new music I’ve written.
I’ve noticed that you’ve been doing a lot of live stream concerts (I’ve been loving your piano bar sessions!) How does it feel performing on this medium in comparison to playing live? Are there any major pros and cons?
I’m glad you’ve liked them! It has definitely been an adjustment moving from live performance to live streaming. I used to work at an actual piano bar before all this craziness hit, and I can tell you there is nothing like playing in front of a crowd that’s dancing and singing along. But what I do appreciate about live streaming is the fact that it can reach people from all around the world rather than just one location. I can still interact with people via the chatbox, and in my piano bars I encourage people to request songs. So though I don’t get to feed off of the energy from the crowd in a venue, I love that I can still interact with my audience and make my performances about them. When Covid19 passes, I am excited to do a combination of both live shows and live streams in the future.
What else can we expect from Bre-L in the future?
You can definitely expect my new album dropping soon! Also many more live stream performances, and cool new content. If you want to stay up to date with everything I’ll be releasing, follow me on instagram at @Bre_LMusic 🙂
Bre-L
