tracks

mindnight traffic
scared of my shadow
minds somewhere else
jungle prince
crazy 'bout you
storms tonight
twisted over you
purple rain

notes

Bronwyn Higgins performs under the simple lowercase moniker, “bronwyn”. The drummer_vocalist, is a classically trained percussionist, turned "singer/drum/writer". The album "minds somewhere else" is an eclectic mix of indie jazz, pop, rock, & blues, held together by smooth vocals and percussive grooves. bronwyn sings, plays half of the drums, and all of the percussion on her formidably unique debut album.

bronwyn holds three degrees in classical percussion from the Eastman School of Music, Boston University, and Duquesne University. For many years, she was pulled in two different musical directions juggling her two loves: pursuing a career as an orchestral timpanist, and at the same time working as a jazz vocalist. But everything changed when she pivoted to songwriting and arranging as her main focus, enabling her to marry the two seemingly incompatible passions into an irresistibly enticing combination.

Recorded between February and May 2017 in the beautiful wooden-clad rooms of Church Recording Studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "minds somewhere else" is a collection of songs that were written and arranged over many years. The Texas style shuffle, "twisted over you" was penned in 2000, and is the oldest song in bronwyn's catalogue. "jungle prince" was composed in 2007 as a jazz vibraphone solo for her Eastman undergraduate recital. Sketches of lyrics and chordal structures for "storms tonight", and the dark, brooding waltz "midnight traffic" are all pieces from bronwyn’s past, and have finally found the opportunity to emerge as fully fledged works.

The ability to quickly write original songs became a prerequisite when bronwyn and her jazz lounge trio were hired to appear on Netflix’s “Mindhunter". The title track on the album, "minds somewhere else" was the product of a request from director Andrew Douglas for a song similar to "Autumn Leaves". The same chords were used, and a new melody and lyric were written with the intention of evoking the headspace and emotion of someone who can no longer control their own mental state, much like the characters in the show. Additionally, bronwyn added a gritty introductory section over which the band could solo.

The remaining original songs, "scared of my shadow", and "crazy ‘bout you” came from the same short, but prolific writing period as “minds". Evoking an atmosphere reminiscent of a 1960’s lounge fantasy, “scared” is stylistically the polar opposite of the burning thriller of a pop song "crazy ‘bout you".

The inspiration to arrange the late Prince’s "purple rain" in a 5/4 time signature came from the extra two beats in the verse leading to the iconic chorus. It is a whirlwind of meticulously placed backgrounds over vocalise and screaming guitars, where the vocals cover a range of nearly 3 octaves.

The band is a formidable combination of All-Pittsburgh musicians: Cliff Barnes, (Marcus Miller) on keyboards, Colter Harper (Rusted Root) and Daniel Carballal (Hillary Reynolds) on guitars, Tony DePaolis (The Contemporary Dynamic) on electric and acoustic bass, and David Throckmorton (Maynard Ferguson) playing drums on the songs "minds somewhere else", "crazy ‘bout you", "twisted over you", and "purple rain". bronwyn plays drums on "midnight traffic", "scared of my shadow", "jungle prince", and "storms tonight", as well as all percussion, and vocals. David Hidek (ZAO, Flyleaf) engineered, edited, and mixed the record, Daniel Carballal (ZAO) edited, and Garrett Haines (Sugar Free Allstars, Wiz Khalifa) mastered the album. Cover photography was done by Maegan Rachelle Photography and Cristina McCarthy Photography. Photo editing was done by Julie Haan. Design was done by Discmakers.

credits

Edited By – Daniel Carballal
Engineer, Mixed By, Edited By – Dave Hidek
Mastered By – Garrett Haines
Producer – Bronwyn Higgins

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