In this conversation, I caught up with Andrew from BrunchBox to talk about the recording process and inspiration behind their new single Dreaming (released on the 27th). We also discuss how lockdown has altered the way musicians engage with their audience and how the past year has affected the music industry.
Hi Brunchbox, tell us a bit about yourself
We’re BrunchBox, a three piece Indie Pop band from Sheffield. It all started with us messing around together whenever we could manage to wangle our way into a room with a drum kit at school. By late 2017 we’d got a load of demos and picked our two favourites ‘Ocean’ and ‘Skyline’ which became our first two singles released in 2018. Then, BrunchBox split off to various universities around the UK and we effectively went on a hiatus. We managed to reconnect over lockdown and now we’ve got lots more music to give.
Your new single Dreaming lyrically explores the highs and lows of being in a relationship. What can you tell us about the inspiration and meaning behind the lyrics?
The core of the song was written when I was feeling rather sorry for myself after getting a bit too invested in someone that didn’t feel the same way. It tells the tale of doubting every word someone says and not knowing where you stand. At the time, sometimes just daydreaming that one day they might finally say what you’ve wanted all along.
How did you initially come up with the idea for Dreaming? Do you write together as a band or do you write individually?
I tend to start off the writing process, usually it’s just me and an acoustic guitar after 12am, humming melodies which eventually turn into lyrics. Most of the time, after I’ve got the core of the song, I’ll record it and get some extra guitar parts figured out before Gabriel and Joe lay down their Drums and Bass. Then me and Gabriel will spend a good while adding all the exciting stuff that’s not so obvious, pianos, synths etc… Dreaming is a weird one, especially in the pace of the delivery of the verses, but I think that the guitar was written first, so the faster vocal just fell into place.
Where did you record the new single? How was the process?
Everything we do is recorded & mixed by myself, either in my home studio (shed) or just in my bedroom at university. Dreaming specifically was the first track we did when we got back together over summer and it was all done in the shed. I think we’d be pretty screwed if we were trying to record in an actual studio at this point, we love the freedom of having time to experiment. The biggest challenge (other than Covid…) was how hot it gets in the shed, we have to keep the windows closed else the neighbours might leak our bangers, but it's not ideal on the hottest day of the year!
Do you have any artists/musicians who you consider having inspired your music?
When the band started, we were off to gigs almost every weekend. Acts like Sundara Karma, JAWS, The Magic Gang and Circa Waves were staples of our weekends and their influence on our sound is still strong. However, we’ve somewhat moved away from listening to that pure British indie rock area of music since. Our most notable recent influences are from across the pond, people like Clairo, Phoebe Bridgers and Hippo Campus are huge inspirations.
Has lockdown affected your creative process? If so, how?
In many ways the first lockdown was the only reason we were able to come back and start making music again. There finally came a time when we all had nothing else to do and were able to focus on something we really love.
How has lockdown changed the way you make music as a band?
Once we were back in the swing of things it was all pretty similar, we ended up using a lot of old demos as the backbone for our new tracks. In fact, most of the bassline for Dreaming was probably recorded in 2017!?
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Honestly, I don’t know that I’ve ever received a piece of advice that has really been ingrained on my brain. However, as a band we’d say ‘listen to a new piece of new music before each day’. Gotta keep it moving…
Make sure you check out Dreaming by Brunchbox, and read my review of their single over on my 'reviews' page!
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