Artist Les Brown: Musician Meets Scientist

Multi-instrumentalist, performer, composer and producer Les Brown lets no genre or style of his craft tie him down. He’s a mixer and melder, a scientist of sounds if you will. With his latest album release, he’s proving you’re only as good as The Next One. Brown spoke with Splash about his process, his ability to create the unexpected and makes a comparison to a favorite movie’s famous quote about a box of chocolates. 

Congrats on the release of your second album, aptly named The Next One. What can listeners expect from this latest album? 

Thank you! Listeners can expect something they probably haven’t heard before. Most albums are pretty predictable from start to end; you know the artist and you know what to expect. I try to turn that upside-down, so you can’t guess what the next song will sound like. I hope the music will invoke pleasure in the listener; whether that pleasure is dancing, having the right atmosphere for work or workout, or enjoying the sounds while relaxing.

I love that comparison you made to your album to Forrest Gump‘s box of chocolates, noting that you’ll never know what you’re going to hear. What do our flavor options look like in this latest musical box? And, do you have a favorite song of choice? 

The Next One has tastes of early Brian Eno, a bit of gin, the soothing feel of daisies fluttering about, an oddly colored cigarette of some kind, and even the delicious sound of what is apparently a percussion ensemble tumbling down a flight of stairs with assorted animals. My favorite song on the album depends on mood. Sometimes I like getting lost in the ambience of “Martini,” or sitting back and enjoying “Daisy In The Wind,” but I also enjoy the uplifting feel and sound of Picycle and turning up the volume and rocking out to “Yeehaw!”

You’ve been described as a sound scientist of sorts. What is it about the melding of different genres of music that intrigues you? 

I love the freedom and flexibility of working in such a wide musical space. I can draw from all the musical influences I have accumulated, and combine the feelings or sounds from multiple genres into one song or album. This wide musical palette eliminates a lot of barriers to creativity, and I can let my ideas flow without having to worry about coloring outside the musical lines. I do what sounds good to me. I enjoy the result, and I hope other people might enjoy it, too. 

How and when did you first discover your interest in mixing different styles of music? 

I believe mixing music styles started by the way I listen to my music collection at home: on random play. I rarely pick out an album to listen to; I turn on random play and every song is a random selection from my collection. An AC/DC song might be followed by something classical, then maybe Butthole Surfers, John Zorn, Tangerine Dream, Slayer, DEVO, Phish, Susumu Yokota, Alice Cooper, Residents, Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails, Frank Zappa, Dead Kennedys…You get the idea. With so much different music bouncing around in my head, mixing music styles seems natural, or maybe even unavoidable.

This is the second in a trilogy. What can we expect in the third album? Can you give us a sneak peak of what you’re working on? I have to ask:  Will this third album be called The Last One?

The third album will contain more musical adventures, new chocolates for you to try. My goal is to create music that is more compelling, thought-provoking and fun to hear. Before I started work on the first album, I picked names for each album: The First One, The Next One, and (drum roll) The One After That, which I am currently working on. In the meantime, I just released an EP of songs that didn’t make it onto The Next One for one reason or another. The title is Leftovers EP, and is available now on Bandcamp and soon on streaming services. Another project I am involved in, Leeyoh, has a rather odd EP called “Mellotron Rhythm Blues” arriving on Bandcamp and streaming soon. More Leeyoh is also in the future.

What’s your favorite aspect of creating music? 

I love the process of exploration and experimentation, trying different ideas and learning to make more enjoyable, entertaining and thoughtful music. I enjoy working toward creating a sensation for the listener, whether introspection, joy, compassion, or the urge to go out and enjoy life in a new light.

What do you hope listeners will take away from your music? What’s the message you hope to share? 

I hope the listener will have a positive experience that they might want to expand on. I hope my music can help someone gain insight into themselves, the different music of the world, or even the world itself. But, honestly, a listen to the album and maybe a toe-tap or two would be fantastic to me. 

What does your process of creating look like? Can you walk us through the process? 

I start a song in one of two ways: an idea for a rhythm or melody, and/or experimentation. I am usually doing something unrelated to music when I get a rhythm or melody in my head. If possible, I go to a computer and jot down the idea in a DAW (digital audio workstation software). When I sit down to write music, I will go back to ideas I have jotted down to see if I still like them and build on those that I like. Other days, I sit down with no intention beyond experimenting with synthesizers, or percussion, noise, guitar, etc. “In A Savanna,” from the Leftovers EP, came about experimentally, as an attempt to mimic the sound of the sintir or guembri, the bass guitar-like instrument I first heard used in Gnawa music. That experiment became a song, but most do not.