Today we’re sitting down with New Zealand-based songwriter and music producer James Brodie to talk about his debut solo album Lost and Found, a 9-track indie rock record that aims to help us see the joy and hope of life in our most trying times. Without giving away much further, let’s jump into the interview.
Let’s start with some essentials. How long have you been producing music and songwriting?
Professionally, I started writing and producing when I was 16 in Te Aroha, New Zealand (my hometown, which is still where I live today) just to process what I was going through in the changes of life that high school brings. I had long been a music lover and had taken guitar and piano lessons growing up from about age 10, but 16 is when things started to really click and I started to write songs at my Mum’s house and on my bunk bed at Dad’s home too. Since then I started trying to write songs (that at first sucked) and then I started working with other people in underground projects as a musician and a producer before eventually getting to this point of releasing my first solo album 12 years later (which still blows my mind to this day). It’s been a long journey to get here but it’s also the beginning of something new.
Admittedly I was surprised on this album when I realized that you’re not also the lead vocalist on all these tracks. Do you sing on any of them or is that one area of the production puzzle that you shy away from?
Trust me when I say this, nobody wants to hear me sing. You really don’t. I had an OK voice for a while but I can’t possibly hit the standards needed to do this kind of thing now. So when I started writing the songs and got a clear idea they would become something, I reached out to vocalists who I think could carry the songs well and from there I would send them the tracks to sing on and go from there.
Not to be nit picky, but is it really a solo album if you’re not the main vocal feature? Why advertise it as such?
I appreciate the nit pickiness and can totally understand where you’re coming from. It is very unusual to not have the guy who’s name is on the album cover not sing any of the tracks. But it has happened in music before. And while it’s not my voice singing the songs, it’s me playing on the tracks and putting the messages out there – hence why I made this my first solo album. Because for the first time, I can really speak musically as myself and say things that I want to say in the hopes that other people can connect and that the songs will be useful in some way or another.
Are you a multi instrumentalist or do you enlist the help of session players on your productions?
In addition to the production side of things, I am also a multi-instrumentalist and played everything on the album (guitars, keyboards/piano, drums, bass, etc). When working with other projects I’ve sat in with session players before and I’ve done open jam sessions for fun but on this album I wanted to make sure that I was playing the things that not only I wanted to play, but would communicate what I was trying to say best.
When you’re sitting down to write a new track, where do you usually begin? Walk us through your process a little if you can.
Usually I’m not trying to write a new track when they come so I always carry a notebook with me and write down lyrics, melody ideas, and bits that could be helpful as I go about day to day life. After I’ve collected some rough sketches of the songs I’ll write the rhythms and basic instrumentation to send off to the vocalists I’m working with and once I get their parts back I’ll write some of the lead instruments and melodies around their contributions so it ends up with this kind of world you’re stepping into when you listen to each song. I’ve tried to write songs on purpose but usually they’re not very good so I just let it happen naturally and that often is when I write at my best.
We can definitely hear some of your musical influences on the record, like U2 who come through quite strongly on Waterfronts, but who are your biggest producer influences?
A few off the top of my head include Steve Lillywhite, Guy Chambers (who co-wrote and produced most of the biggest hits by Robbie Williams; The first songwriter I connected with and still do to this day), the duo of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, Ryan Tedder, and Daft Punk are the first that come to mind. There are many other producers that have influenced my audio production journey over the years but if you wanted to look at the core producers that have had an impact on me, these would be my top five. I like how they can make music sound human and yet add something different and something special to what they create and that’s part of what drives me to produce and create.
Lost and Found is influenced by events in your life that have occurred over the last few years, perhaps the most challenging of those being the loss of your dad. Can we talk a bit about that? Were you close? How did his death impact you when it happened?
You don’t know heartbreak until it’s that close to you. Dad and I were very close and even when I was busy doing other things I always came back to him as much as I could. We would go to the river and collect rocks to paint, go on road trips with no plan in mind, sit on the porch and talk about life, and enjoy the little moments of fun together (even when our worlds were shaken and rocked by other things). He was ill for some time and I was never going to be ready to say goodbye (even though that time did come) so I spent every moment I could with him not knowing if it would be the last until that final conversation when we silently knew and I’ll never scrub that out of my memory. I still remember getting the call (even though we all knew it was going to happen) and I can still remember the sound of my heart shattering knowing it would never be the same again. I’ll never fully be over that and there will always be a part of me that’s missing him. But when it’s my turn to go to heaven, I know he’ll be waiting for me to say “Welcome Home” with the biggest hug in the world ready for my arrival.
I also understand that you were in a car crash which has left you with some injuries you’re still recovering from. How has that process been going?
Yeah, recovery’s going slow but steady. Originally, the plan was to start touring LOST and FOUND in Australia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan in the second half of this year and carry on from there around New Zealand and the rest of the world but those plans had to be scrapped so I could focus on recovery. It’s day by day right now. Some days I’m feeling great. Other days getting out of bed is an achievement. But I’m beginning to see a roadmap through my recovery and I’m following the doctor’s orders (which is really important right now). It will take time, but 3 months later I’m doing OK and a little further down the track.
When you yourself were dealing with these turbulent events and feeling particularly low, what or who did you turn to for support and how do you feel that helped you?
At the time, that was part of the problem. I would isolate myself to protect those around me (which was a coping mechanism at the time) and ultimately that did more harm than good. I’m still rebuilding new bridges for some of those relationships to this day and it wasn’t easy. But one night when I was living at Lake Domain Drive in Hamilton I felt God calling me to go for a walk to Gateway Church (which is a church I still attend to this day) and in that moment he started the process of bringing me out of that hiding and walking with me instead of carrying me through the pain. Through God I slowly started regathering myself, getting myself clean from some of the mental health issues I was going through from everything that had happened until that point. And through that I met friends who were healthy for me, buddies in a church group that have supported me, rebuilt relationships with some of my family and friends, and just been able to continue walking, which sometimes just having that is enough.
Would you say you’re a producer that intentionally borrows from your favourite hits or do you think you stumble back into them by accident? When we hear the guitar riff come through on Captain and the Kid, we can’t help but cock our head.
When I land on something, it’s usually a happy accident when you stumble on something that’s been heard before (unknowingly) but interpreted in a new way. Captain and The Kid’s guitar melodies were actually inspired by old lullabies Dad used to sing to me when I was young and for whatever reason one of them came to mind and I turned it unknowingly into the melody of the song. I can’t remember what the lullaby was called now but I remember him singing me to sleep and exploring his record collections growing up and that sparked a generous amount of the love I have for music today. Which is quite fitting as Captain and The Kid was written about the very last conversation I ever got to have with my Dad so that brings up some special moments even for me (with a hint of Bruce Springsteen’s influence on the track too just to put a nice bow on it). I’m really happy they’re creating new memories for you too, whatever they may be.
How do you feel about the recent lawsuit with Miley Cyrus and her track Flowers which allegedly borrows heavily from Bruno Mars?
I’ll be honest, I’m not too in the loop on that so I just had to do a quick google search to see what it’s about. As a general statement, there’s more music coming out now than at any point in history as there’s so many more tools to put music out there than at any other point in history. Inevitably, there’s going to be some overlap here and there and from what little I know about this lawsuit, it seems to be a similar thing (which is less Bruno and more the corporation that holds the rights to the song). And unfortunately, this kind of thing is getting more and more common with melodies, chord sequences, etc. being challenged in a courtroom by big corporations who want profit over anything else that actually looks after the artist. I think it’s silly that they want to ban Miley from performing the song at all (especially if Bruno isn’t even involved in the lawsuit) and as Ed Sheeran predicted when Shape of You got caught in similar drama, these things are getting more common and more ridiculous over time. Maybe if we could get songwriters out of the courtroom and back in the studio, we can actually try to do what we love without the big wigs ruining the fun for everyone.
On this same topic, do you utilize AI for your productions or are you on the anti-AI art team?
I haven’t tried AI in music yet and I’m not on either side of the argument just yet. And it’s not because I’m not open to AI being a possibility in music someday. I just have not had a chance to play with it. I still prefer the human element of music being central to everything that is at the core of songwriting, but perhaps AI could become a tool to make that shine more?
What are your thoughts on how AI will impact art and music in the coming years?
I’m one of the least qualified people to talk on AI but I can see its potential to elevate music and art. What I do worry about is AI overwriting the human element and that doesn’t sound good to me. So it’s that balancing act of new innovation with the human heart that we as a society will have to figure out as time goes on.
Why should listeners who have never heard of you take a chance on this record?
A lot of people push their album because it’s going to be the next hottest thing and that it’s this and that. I don’t see this album as that at all. All I want to do through these songs is spend a bit of time with you, tell you a little bit about my story, and hopefully it connects with you and finds a home in your world (even if it’s only for a while). I’m here to tell you the stories through the songs and if you want to listen then here I am. If you don’t want to listen then that’s OK too, but there’s a story here to tell if you want to go on that journey with me.
What’s one message you’d like to push out into the world today for whomever needs to hear it?
This is something I’ve been saying a lot but it rings true more and more day by day, but it’s OK not to be OK and it’s alright if you’re not alright. The sun still shines on rainy days. These dark patches are just moments and the storms will pass. The lights will be shining bright tonight even if you’re walking with broken pieces in your hands. And whether you walk with God or not, life will get better and you are worthy of love and being loved. Whatever that looks like to you. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and things will be OK.
If you can summarize Brodie (the artist) in one sentence, what is it?
A messy broken man who’s made mistakes and recovered helping other messy broken people through music to see the sun on a rainy day.
What’s one artist people might be surprised to find in your CD case?
Hmmm…… I think the biggest surprises is the diversity of artists that have contributed from different corners of the world that help to convey a part of the same message. I have been blessed to work with a variety of session vocalists in Hungary, Argentina, the United States, and some other cool places in between. This was an album that was never planned and when reaching out to these vocalists even I was unsure if they would sing it or whether it would work out, but by some miracle it did and I am very grateful for it. So that might be the biggest surprise.
I know touring is off the table for you until at least next year due to your injury, but do you have anything else coming up you want fans to keep an ear out for? Music video perhaps or any other appearances?
Yeah, we’re definitely developing some more visual content and some experiences around the songs and the world of LOST and FOUND so keep an eye out for those over the next few months. The best place to find out that information first is on brodiestreet.net by signing up to my email club, and then over on social media @brodieisfound is where they’ll go next. It sucks that I can’t tour as planned right now (but working towards being able to), however it’s caused a bit of a rethink about how this album is represented and opened some new doors that weren’t even on the radar. So yeah join the Email Club and social media and let’s see what happens.
Thanks very much Brodie!
Listen to LOST and FOUND Keep up with Brodie at his website and social media channels below.
Looking for a little more? Here are some recommendations inspired by the interview.
Crooked Forest 