Colin Bracewell Q&A
Colin Bracewell is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter. Keep reading to find out about his creative process, his dream collaborations, and his favorite part of live shows.
By: Tosin Faseemo
What genre would you say that your music is?
Something in the alternative realm for sure. I mean, there's definitely like rock influence and. stuff like that.
What inspires you when you’re making music?
At the beginning it was Jeff Buckley for sure. I'd say now Bon Iver and Daniel Caesar.
What's your creative process like?
It depends. When it comes to writing, I normally either have a story that I'm thinking about, and then I find a melody and I kind of pair the two together. But typically, I find a melody first and then, once that melody sticks, I put the lyrics to that. Then I kind of structure it all.
Do you collaborate with a lot of people, or do you like to do things on your own?
In the early days, I would just do it on my own because I hate relying on people. You are going to be the one that cares the most about your work, so you should have you know the most control over it. But then I realized that collaboration is so important. I'd say now, after this release, I've been collaborating a lot more with people. It's been super rewarding; it's awesome. I have two songs that are coming out and one of them is my first duet with an artist. I really do need feedback to move forward and get stuff done.
Walk me through like your latest EP. How did that get made?
So one of the songs off it, it's been like two years since it's been completed. It's “Let Me In.” That one was written like two years ago and it's kind of been in the catalog. I had five songs prepared. Then I thought, “I feel like I should challenge myself one more time.” I had just returned from LA shooting the music video for “Why,” and I was like let's just write five more songs, just so that I have options. So I spent that last week writing and I wrote five songs. Two of the five songs ended up being on the EP; it actually made the whole EP super cohesive. My co-producer and I spent the next month and a half recording. He mixed the EP. It was crazy how quickly it went from the writing process to demoing it. One of the tracks, I made like nine demos. It took us like a month and a half to record and produce it, and then it came out July 29 as a local release.
What's your favorite thing about performing live?
Seeing people's faces. I really like that. I just love seeing people's reactions, especially when it's like a conversation. I also like performing with my band. I could perform solo, and that's what I've done for so long, but it's so much more fun to jam. I just love being able to jam, especially with a group of five musicians. I'd say those two aspects for sure.
Who is your dream collaboration?
I'd say Justin Vernon, just because of how close he is to us. I mean, he's like one hour and a half from Minneapolis. With this EP I was so inspired by everything that he's worked on so far, even stuff with Kanye. I’d be down to do anything with him.
What do you like about the Minneapolis music scene?
I think it's dope because we're all so young and we're also so down to collaborate. Not even to make music, sometimes just to meet with people. I think it also is nice that the University of Minnesota also has a huge music scene. I bet like half of the people that are our age and doing music go to the U. It's just made it so much easier to find bandmates. Everyone's just willing to hang out and collaborate and that's the way it should be.
Colin’s EP, “Valley,” is out now.