Brice Robell, welcome to VENTS! Can you tell us about your recently released single, City Lights? 

-Thank you all for having me! City Lights is a poetic caution sign; it warns against the empty promises of mass-consumerism, attention economy, shady businessmen, and western individualism. It’s also one of the main tracks off my debut album “RFLCT Pt.1”.

You clearly have a talent for melding philosophy, poetry and melody; what/who is the main inspiration behind that amalgam? 

-I really appreciate the compliment! Thomas Merton is one of my biggest inspirations; he was a monk, poet, and philosopher who wrote many beautiful works. Also a huge Tolkien nerd/fan. As far as the musical side, I could go on & on with my inspirations: My dad, Hans Zimmer, Sade, Jon Bellion, Thelonious Monk, BB King, Bill Withers, Bach, Morricone, etc. 

How candid are your lyrics? 

-I try to be as honest as I can while still maintaining a sense of approachability. Therein lies the challenge when songwriting…one word/phrase can sometimes alter how people perceive things. 

If you could change one thing in society via your music, what would it be? 

Do you have hope that more people will awaken to the detriment and destruction of modern media and resist it?

-I do. It’s paradoxically beautiful to see documentaries like “The Social Dilemma” raising awareness & seeing companies like the Center of Humane Technology working tirelessly to undo the mess we’ve created. I’ve spoken to teens who went from suicidal to loving life after being reminded of their true value; beyond the endless void of illusional validation online. I also have hope that we will completely re-evaluate our post-modern philosophy. Quite evidently, trusting science & technology as an end in themselves has failed; the irony is we aren’t listening to the statistics. I hope we look to books like “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl or go back to the wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Merton, Dante, etc.    

Can you give us a glimpse into your creative process? 

-Honestly, it varies. Sometimes a bassline hits me out of nowhere. Sometimes a melody will come right when I wake up. Sometimes I sit down at the keyboard and start playing until it goes somewhere, sometimes it goes nowhere. Sometimes my passion for something will inspire lyrics on the spot. Making music is a very spiritual process for me & more often than not I just have to get out of the way.

What’s next for Brice Robell? 

-I have a few collabs with some european producers coming up. After that I’m going to get to work on a couple singles & a project called “Intermission” which will be released between RFLCT Pt.1 & Pt.2! Thanks again for having me & I appreciate your thoughtful questions.