LISTEN TO THE EP HERE
“From well-intertwined samples and complex layered rhythms, briskin is pushing the boundary of what to expect from a ‘pop’ artist” – Clash
“briskin’s music is subtle and inventive, utilising the explosive moments of a song to full effect.” – Line of Best Fit
One of North London’s favourite musical sons, briskin today releases his highly anticipated new EP ‘The Circus’ via PMR Records.
The EP is accompanied by the acoustic-laced lead track ‘Love Songs in the Rain’, a wry take on the classic love, inspired by the tropes of classic rom coms, particularly Say Anything and the iconic image of John Cusack holding up his boombox.
“It’s a tongue and cheek play on the classic rom-com trope of holding a boombox outside a persons house to try and win them back/ win them over” briskin elaborates. “I thought it would be funny to imagine what it would be like if someone did it in real life and I came to the conclusion that the neighbours wouldn’t like it one bit. But in essence the song is about making a fool of yourself to impress someone.”
‘The Circus’ is a bold artistic statement that plays with form, narrative and different musical styles to create something totally unique. Composed of 9 tracks, the first 8 follow a loose narrative structure that briskin has created, partially inspired by his own life experiences, and partially by the 19th century Italian Opera, ‘Pagliacci’.
“’The Circus’ is the narrative of a clown, and I wanted to blend both the traditional sense of a clown with the modern one” briskin says of the EP. “By that the traditional sense I mean being an actual clown with the makeup and the costume and everything. And then also in the way that clown is used in a modern context being like, you’re a clown, you’re a fool!”
Born in North London, briskin first began learning piano at age 8 and quickly established himself as something of a musical polymath. Inspired by his obsession with Frank Ocean, The Beach Boys, and his dad’s love of the Beatles he started crafting his own sound while still a teenager and has been working on his complex mix of pop, hip hop, RNB and electronica ever since.
In 2020 he dropped his debut mixtape, ‘Forever was a Feeling’, which was produced by mentor and ex-Klaxon Jamie Reynolds. If that release marked a full stop at the end of his teenage apprenticeship, then ‘The Circus’ is him fully setting out for himself, producing more and defining his musical direction. And along with his new sense of musical individuality has come a new name, as he decided to shorten to briskin after releasing music previously under his full name, Daniel Briskin.
Briskin has recently been supporting Nessa Barrett on some UK dates and will be playing a special headline show at London’s Folklore on the 14th June. Tickets are available here
