Since their debut as Brijean, the project of percussionist/singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy (the percussive heartbeat for live bands like Mitski, Poolside, and Toro y Moi) and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart has moved with ingenuity, fusing psych-pop abstraction with dancefloor sensibilities. Through the body and mind, rhythm and lyricism, they make sense of the worlds around and within; 2021's Feelings celebrated self-reflection; 2022's Angelo processed loss, coinciding with the duo's first headlining tour, which doubled down on the material's desire to move. Now, across the playful expanse of Macro, arriving in 2024 on Ghostly International, Brijean engages different sides of themselves, the paradox of being alive.
Murphy, an accomplished DJ, session and live player in Oakland's diverse music scene has emerged as one of indie's most in-demand percussionists. In 2018, she began recording songs with multi-instrumentalist and producer Stuart, who shares a background in jazz and pop in bands such as Bells Atlas, Meernaa, and Luke Temple. Eventually dubbed Brijean, the project grew out of marathon sessions at their intimate home-studio. Their first effort, Walkie Talkie (released by Native Cat Recordings in 2019), found Murphy taking the mic for the first time to deliver dreamy dance tracks that felt home-cooked and effortlessly chic. Her layered percussion and hypnotic, expressive vocals coupled with Stuart's production and harmonic palette evoked shades of disco, '90s house, and a sly pop sensibility. "A smooth, sumptuous, and soulful record," said Bandcamp, who helped propel the group's early following.
Murphy's musical talents are family heirlooms: her father, percussionist and engineer Patrick Murphy, taught Brijean her first patterns on a pair of congas that she inherited from the late Trinidadian steel drum legend Vince Charles (of Neil Diamond). Growing up in LA's Glassell Park, Murphy was raised by a cadre of honorary aunts and uncles - a deep bench of jazz, Latin and soul musicians in their own rites. This meant she grew up regaled by musical lore - larger-than-life tales of jazz luminaries, psychedelic trips and obscure cultural enclaves - sampling some of those family stories and weaving them into her work.
Growing up outside of Chicago, Stuart found his way into jazz clubs and festivals as a teenager, frequently going to hear Jeff Parker, Fred Anderson, and other members of the AACM. While attending the University of Michigan, he studied under Detroit jazz royalty, Robert Hurst and Geri Allen. After college, Stuart became intrigued by the music of J Dilla and Moodymann, and began learning production and exploring the connections between jazz, house, and hip-hop.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brijean is the duo of percussionist and singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist and producer Doug Stuart, and together they make dance music for the mind, body and soul, evoking 70s disco, 90s house and sly pop sensibilities.
Their debut album Feelings arrived via Ghostly International in February 2021, a golden-hued dream pop tropicalia of dazzling beats and honeyed vocals; remixes from Buscabulla, Sam Gendel, DRAMA and Rick Wade followed.
In August of 2022 they will release Angelo - an EP, named after Murphy's recently purchased 1981 Toyota Celica, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding Feelings, which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo's sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, "to get us out of our grief and into our bodies," says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal -- a resourceful, collective answer to "what happens now?"
~~~~~~~~
The Seshen is a San Francisco Bay Area six-piece band whose songs exist between the lines: in the space between waking and dreaming, ego and collective consciousness, and that blurred horizon where earth meets sea meets sky.
show less
Murphy, an accomplished DJ, session and live player in Oakland's diverse music scene has emerged as one of indie's most in-demand percussionists. In 2018, she began recording songs with multi-instrumentalist and producer Stuart, who shares a background in jazz and pop in bands such as Bells Atlas, Meernaa, and Luke Temple. Eventually dubbed Brijean, the project grew out of marathon sessions at their intimate home-studio. Their first effort, Walkie Talkie (released by Native Cat Recordings in 2019), found Murphy taking the mic for the first time to deliver dreamy dance tracks that felt home-cooked and effortlessly chic. Her layered percussion and hypnotic, expressive vocals coupled with Stuart's production and harmonic palette evoked shades of disco, '90s house, and a sly pop sensibility. "A smooth, sumptuous, and soulful record," said Bandcamp, who helped propel the group's early following.
Murphy's musical talents are family heirlooms: her father, percussionist and engineer Patrick Murphy, taught Brijean her first patterns on a pair of congas that she inherited from the late Trinidadian steel drum legend Vince Charles (of Neil Diamond). Growing up in LA's Glassell Park, Murphy was raised by a cadre of honorary aunts and uncles - a deep bench of jazz, Latin and soul musicians in their own rites. This meant she grew up regaled by musical lore - larger-than-life tales of jazz luminaries, psychedelic trips and obscure cultural enclaves - sampling some of those family stories and weaving them into her work.
Growing up outside of Chicago, Stuart found his way into jazz clubs and festivals as a teenager, frequently going to hear Jeff Parker, Fred Anderson, and other members of the AACM. While attending the University of Michigan, he studied under Detroit jazz royalty, Robert Hurst and Geri Allen. After college, Stuart became intrigued by the music of J Dilla and Moodymann, and began learning production and exploring the connections between jazz, house, and hip-hop.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brijean is the duo of percussionist and singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist and producer Doug Stuart, and together they make dance music for the mind, body and soul, evoking 70s disco, 90s house and sly pop sensibilities.
Their debut album Feelings arrived via Ghostly International in February 2021, a golden-hued dream pop tropicalia of dazzling beats and honeyed vocals; remixes from Buscabulla, Sam Gendel, DRAMA and Rick Wade followed.
In August of 2022 they will release Angelo - an EP, named after Murphy's recently purchased 1981 Toyota Celica, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding Feelings, which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo's sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, "to get us out of our grief and into our bodies," says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal -- a resourceful, collective answer to "what happens now?"
~~~~~~~~
The Seshen is a San Francisco Bay Area six-piece band whose songs exist between the lines: in the space between waking and dreaming, ego and collective consciousness, and that blurred horizon where earth meets sea meets sky.
Since their debut as Brijean, the project of percussionist/singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy (the percussive heartbeat for live bands like Mitski, Poolside, and Toro y Moi) and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart has moved with ingenuity, fusing psych-pop abstraction with dancefloor sensibilities. Through the body and mind, rhythm and lyricism, they make sense of the worlds around and within; 2021's Feelings celebrated self-reflection; 2022's Angelo processed loss, coinciding with the duo's first headlining tour, which doubled down on the material's desire to move. Now, across the playful expanse of Macro, arriving in 2024 on Ghostly International, Brijean engages different sides of themselves, the paradox of being alive.
Murphy, an accomplished DJ, session and live player in Oakland's diverse music scene has emerged as one of indie's most in-demand percussionists. In 2018, she began recording songs with multi-instrumentalist and producer Stuart, who shares a background in jazz and pop in bands such as Bells Atlas, Meernaa, and Luke Temple. Eventually dubbed Brijean, the project grew out of marathon sessions at their intimate home-studio. Their first effort, Walkie Talkie (released by Native Cat Recordings in 2019), found Murphy taking the mic for the first time to deliver dreamy dance tracks that felt home-cooked and effortlessly chic. Her layered percussion and hypnotic, expressive vocals coupled with Stuart's production and harmonic palette evoked shades of disco, '90s house, and a sly pop sensibility. "A smooth, sumptuous, and soulful record," said Bandcamp, who helped propel the group's early following.
Murphy's musical talents are family heirlooms: her father, percussionist and engineer Patrick Murphy, taught Brijean her first patterns on a pair of congas that she inherited from the late Trinidadian steel drum legend Vince Charles (of Neil Diamond). Growing up in LA's Glassell Park, Murphy was raised by a cadre of honorary aunts and uncles - a deep bench of jazz, Latin and soul musicians in their own rites. This meant she grew up regaled by musical lore - larger-than-life tales of jazz luminaries, psychedelic trips and obscure cultural enclaves - sampling some of those family stories and weaving them into her work.
Growing up outside of Chicago, Stuart found his way into jazz clubs and festivals as a teenager, frequently going to hear Jeff Parker, Fred Anderson, and other members of the AACM. While attending the University of Michigan, he studied under Detroit jazz royalty, Robert Hurst and Geri Allen. After college, Stuart became intrigued by the music of J Dilla and Moodymann, and began learning production and exploring the connections between jazz, house, and hip-hop.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brijean is the duo of percussionist and singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist and producer Doug Stuart, and together they make dance music for the mind, body and soul, evoking 70s disco, 90s house and sly pop sensibilities.
Their debut album Feelings arrived via Ghostly International in February 2021, a golden-hued dream pop tropicalia of dazzling beats and honeyed vocals; remixes from Buscabulla, Sam Gendel, DRAMA and Rick Wade followed.
In August of 2022 they will release Angelo - an EP, named after Murphy's recently purchased 1981 Toyota Celica, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding Feelings, which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo's sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, "to get us out of our grief and into our bodies," says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal -- a resourceful, collective answer to "what happens now?"
~~~~~~~~
The Seshen is a San Francisco Bay Area six-piece band whose songs exist between the lines: in the space between waking and dreaming, ego and collective consciousness, and that blurred horizon where earth meets sea meets sky.
read more
Murphy, an accomplished DJ, session and live player in Oakland's diverse music scene has emerged as one of indie's most in-demand percussionists. In 2018, she began recording songs with multi-instrumentalist and producer Stuart, who shares a background in jazz and pop in bands such as Bells Atlas, Meernaa, and Luke Temple. Eventually dubbed Brijean, the project grew out of marathon sessions at their intimate home-studio. Their first effort, Walkie Talkie (released by Native Cat Recordings in 2019), found Murphy taking the mic for the first time to deliver dreamy dance tracks that felt home-cooked and effortlessly chic. Her layered percussion and hypnotic, expressive vocals coupled with Stuart's production and harmonic palette evoked shades of disco, '90s house, and a sly pop sensibility. "A smooth, sumptuous, and soulful record," said Bandcamp, who helped propel the group's early following.
Murphy's musical talents are family heirlooms: her father, percussionist and engineer Patrick Murphy, taught Brijean her first patterns on a pair of congas that she inherited from the late Trinidadian steel drum legend Vince Charles (of Neil Diamond). Growing up in LA's Glassell Park, Murphy was raised by a cadre of honorary aunts and uncles - a deep bench of jazz, Latin and soul musicians in their own rites. This meant she grew up regaled by musical lore - larger-than-life tales of jazz luminaries, psychedelic trips and obscure cultural enclaves - sampling some of those family stories and weaving them into her work.
Growing up outside of Chicago, Stuart found his way into jazz clubs and festivals as a teenager, frequently going to hear Jeff Parker, Fred Anderson, and other members of the AACM. While attending the University of Michigan, he studied under Detroit jazz royalty, Robert Hurst and Geri Allen. After college, Stuart became intrigued by the music of J Dilla and Moodymann, and began learning production and exploring the connections between jazz, house, and hip-hop.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brijean is the duo of percussionist and singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist and producer Doug Stuart, and together they make dance music for the mind, body and soul, evoking 70s disco, 90s house and sly pop sensibilities.
Their debut album Feelings arrived via Ghostly International in February 2021, a golden-hued dream pop tropicalia of dazzling beats and honeyed vocals; remixes from Buscabulla, Sam Gendel, DRAMA and Rick Wade followed.
In August of 2022 they will release Angelo - an EP, named after Murphy's recently purchased 1981 Toyota Celica, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding Feelings, which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo's sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, "to get us out of our grief and into our bodies," says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal -- a resourceful, collective answer to "what happens now?"
~~~~~~~~
The Seshen is a San Francisco Bay Area six-piece band whose songs exist between the lines: in the space between waking and dreaming, ego and collective consciousness, and that blurred horizon where earth meets sea meets sky.
show less
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