Bruno Major has been capturing listeners’ hearts with his groovy guitar licks, heart-ache-inducing lyricism and vulnerable vocal performance since his debut album, A Song For Every Moon.
The British singer/songwriter has experienced both a musical and personal metamorphosis since, taking the time to explore a range of subgenres and sonic variations in his sophomore album, To Let A Good Thing Die. Major has journeyed to hone in on the ineffable qualities that compose his vast discography.
From soul shaking bass lines to multitudes of layered harmonies and guitar solos that feel transcendent, the artist has created a signature sound that blends rock, jazz and R&B subgenres to create his heart aching, deeply vulnerable and cinematic third album Columbo, released on July 21st via Harbour Artists & Music / AWAL Recordings.
The first inklings of Columbo began following COVID lockdown where Major had experienced “life FOMO.” During this time, Major experienced a rebirth of sorts. “Part of the reason I think Columbo is my most honest album is [because] lock down was this great equalizer. It forced us all to return to ground zero.” He elaborates, “You’re not going on tour, you’re not singing, you’re not performing and you can’t even write songs because you’re not inspired by your surroundings.”
Uninspired and unable to write, “I was desperate for experience, vitality and just life,” Major shares. With newfound freedom, Major began saying “yes” to everything and experiencing as much as he could to make up for lost time.
“That period of six to eight months was the most prolific in terms of my songwriting that I’ve ever experienced. And that’s really what Columbo is. It’s a diary of that explosion, post-lockdown.” That chaos led to the purchase of a 1981 280SL in Ivory White, affectionately called Columbo after its brown leather interior. Inspiration flowed in this car, “I just drove around Los Angeles, in this old car listening to the records that inspired the album” Major explains “I was driving down the PCH, with the wind in my hair, and really just thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m not stuck in London’… So the car was really representative of a renewed autonomy and the return of liberty that we all experienced.”
However, tragedy struck when Major crashed his beloved Columbo, leading to the creation of the title track.
Oh, Columbo, Columbo It’s time for us to say goodbye Hold your tears and don’t you cry Columbo, Columbo I’ll see you on the other side We’ll go for a sunset ride, you wait Someday we’ll drive the world away On the Pacific Coast Highway
The Columbo cover art features a multi layered, mixed media piece depicting an abstract image of Major’s crashed Mercedes.
The piece was hand crafted by Robert Shuttleworth, a friend and mastermind behind the singer/songwriter’s previous album artwork. Major’s wrecked car sits front and center for this album, however this is not the first time Major has documented his misfortune with automobiles. So you may ask, “What’s the deep metaphorical meaning behind years of discussing car crashes?” and Major’s response is, “If I’m honest, I just crash a lot of cars!”
“Hilariously, I actually tried to get insured on a car recently. They went on my Instagram and they found a picture of the crashed Columbo, and they’re like, ‘Sorry sir, we can’t insure you because we’ve just seen you’ve crashed a car.’”
Major has rallied a team of friends and passionate creatives in the creation of his album, working closely with longtime collaborator Finlay Robinson – AKA Phairo. Major’s signature blend of genres was not built in a day, he shares: “My sound [that] I’ve developed is really a collaborative process with Finn. He’s an electronic producer… I think his sound paired with my sound is what made that Bruno Major album [sound.]”
The creative twin flames spent a year creating the album; from 12 PM until nightfall every single day, the two created a world of their own. “He’s willing to go so deep into the creative process, we really get lost just the two of us,” Major says, describing the collaboration. “I think you can hear it in the music, you can hear how much time has been spent, lost in this universe.”
The vast soundscape created by Phairo and Major was fueled by small superstitions, rituals, and bits the pair developed in the process of the album. “We started ordering these chicken wings from Maroush in London,” Major recalls. “We started eating them every day for three months – we started turning green and getting malnutrition… So we stopped eating them, but then we had a week where we just didn’t make any good music. So we were like, ‘Fuck it. Go back to the chicken wings.’”
Alongside chicken superstitions, “Finn is obsessed with the number 9,” the artist exclaims. “I normally do nine takes on my vocals, nine takes all the guitars, everything is saved as like, ‘mix 0.9.’”
These small rituals and the bond the pair share were integrated into Columbo‘s sonic universe.
Listeners can catch glimpses into their collaboration in the opening of “You Take The High Road,” where Major can be heard gently saying, “I love these sounds.” In track 5, “When Can We Be,” following the line, “When the trains are on time,” Major can be heard making a soft “choo choo” sound.
“I love putting easter eggs like that in the music,” Major shares. “In ‘Columbo,’ there’s a bit where it says, ‘Crashed you under the setting sun,’ and as I say setting sun, I do this vocal and we pan it from right to left, because that’s what the sun does when it sets.”
Creating an intricate soundscape paired with instrumentation that tells a story, Major debuted his first fully instrumental tracks, “St. Mary’s Terrace” and “The End.” It was important to Major to maintain the same raw vulnerability in his instrumentation.
“When I first recorded ‘St. Mary’s Terrace,’ I did it in a beautiful studio… We were listening to the album and it felt too grandiose. So I recorded three takes on the old piano in my house. All that creaking is just because the piano is like 100 years old, and it’s a bit broken. But I just think it had a humility to it that suited the moment.”
Baring his soul to the world in a sonic manifestation of love, loss, and freedom, the artist leaves a piece of himself in every creative endeavor.
“One of the most bizarre things about existing as an artist is that your soul is almost encapsulated [in your music,]” Major shares.
Join Atwood Magazine as Bruno Major takes us on a journey through the universe of his most vulnerable album, Columbo!
:: Inside Columbo ::
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