Bryant Barnes is recognised for his standout vocal tone, songwriting skill and undeniable “IT” factor. Following the release of his debut EP, ‘VANITY’, we meet the rising singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and alternative outlier…

What five words describe your sound?

Cinematic. Emotional. Deep. Simple. Musical.

Tell me something unique about your creative process  

I do have a history of piano and cello and I also picked up the guitar a couple years back so whenever I get in the room with a producer, I usually just start off finding the chords myself. With most of my music, I start off from scratch. I go in the studio, I have these chords, I play them over and over again and just write to them. Then once I have the hook or a certain amount written down with the melodies that I like, that’s when we start producing the rest of the track. With the majority of my tracks, I like to start the production. From there I work with a producer to flush out the song and add sounds I wouldn’t know how to process. But I feel like that is pretty unique because not a lot of artists are a part of that production process, especially from scratch. So I think that’s pretty special about me, especially given the fact that I do play these instruments and they do play a huge role in my music. 

Which song of yours would you like people to hear first? 

‘I’d Rather Pretend’ – that’s my favourite song that I’ve put out so far. I want them to hear that because I think that’s the song that I spent the most time on. Not only did that song take the longest but that’s a song that I put the most into. We have the cello, the guitar, piano, drums. I think that’s the first time I involved an orchestra instrument like the cello. And that’s also the first time that we had someone come in specifically to play that cello part so I think that’s pretty cool because I play the cello too. It just means a lot to not only write such a great track in my opinion but also to be able to put the exact sounds that I want and for it to work. It’s my favorite one and also the most emotional and relatable one for me. So with me being able to connect with it on such a high level, that would be the one that I want everyone to hear because that song is literally me. 

What inspired you to make that song? 

In the beginning of the session, I was really going for a bossanova type of song. I was listening to a lot of Laufey on the way to the studio but then it was cool but it wasn’t really fitting. So I just hopped on the piano and started freestyling the chords, playing them over and over again. Eventually I found the word “Pretend” and I kept saying it in my head over and over again. I didn’t want it to be like how people talk about pretending to be with their partner, or pretending to feel a certain way. I wanted to write about something different, which was me wanting to pretend that I didn’t feel the feelings that I felt for this person. Feeling like I wasn’t in love with this person even though I really was. So I thought that was a pretty cool twist to how I was approaching the lyrics. 

What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music? 

Sometimes when you’re in the studio with a writer, they really want to know what’s going on in your life. So probably just explaining what’s happening in my life as we’re creating a song has been the most vulnerable. I think that’s how ‘Adore You’ was made, which was the first song I put out. Things also just happen and you need to just write about them. Sometimes I’m open to doing that, sometimes I’m not. I feel like that’s why I like to start my songs alone, although it’s good to write with other people in my opinion. It just depends on how I’m feeling. 

What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?  

I haven’t played any of my music yet for people but whenever I was a kid, I would do little piano performances whenever I had piano class and the teacher would have the students play for all the parents. Maybe I messed up like once or twice and that’s probably the most embarrassing thing. But I don’t think I’ve had a “worst experience.” I used to play basketball so maybe just when my team lost games, it’s always embarrassing to lose. As far as future performances, I really just hope people connect with the performance itself when I go on tour and stuff like that. I really just want people to sing along. If they’re singing along I don’t think anything embarrassing can happen except for falling off the stage. But I just want my shows to be special.

What is your favourite song to perform? 

I think my favourite song to perform would be ‘I’d Rather Pretend’ because so far that’s the only ballad on the project and I feel like whenever people hear me play it, they’re going to instantly connect and start singing along. But before I even dropped music, I would sing a lot of Shiloh [Dynasty] covers. So probably ‘So Low’ by Shiloh, that’s a good cover. I posted that one on YouTube too. I also like singing ‘Placebo Effect’ by D4vd. That’s also one of my favourite songs to sing in general, outside of posting it online or for other people. I always sing that randomly throughout my day.

Which artist/song/album made you want to make music? 

xxxtentacion is really the original inspiration for all of my stuff. Just witnessing how versatile he was and how people really connected to it. How I really connected to it really inspired me. I think the specific song by X was ‘King’. I remember freshman year I was playing JV Basketball and I had a game. I was listening to that song over and over, like, damn how did he even make this? X was really the person that introduced me to creating music, I would say. 

What’s the meaning behind your name? 

It’s just my birth name. But, I used to go by Kidblazan in highschool because this kid would call me that. I would go by that then I was like damn this name is pretty stupid. Then I was like, I’m just going to use my real name. I think it’s pretty cool because my older brother named me after Kobe Bryant. 

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead? 

If I wasn’t making music, I’d probably be a semester ahead than I am now, getting my bachelors in Management Information Systems. I’d probably be pursuing modelling even more than I am right now. I got my little brother into modelling, he’s signed to Wilhemina right now. I’d probably be modelling with him. Or I’d still be in Houston and probably wouldn’t have any money. Who knows, I’m just really glad people connect with my music. 

What’s success to you? 

Creating music that I’m genuinely proud of and having it connect with everybody. I went to a Keshi show in Houston over a year ago and he had like 2000-3000 people attend. It was probably my favourite show that I’ve ever been to. I also went to an Ecstacy show, which was probably around 1000 people there. So success would be to at least have that many people at my shows or to have something that incredible. To be able to physically see that is like “damn, this amount of people really resonate with the music I’m putting out. They really resonate with me as an artist.” So all of those combined would be success to me.

What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?  

Definitely when I tore my ACL twice back in high school because I genuinely thought I would play basketball in college. I even quit orchestra just to focus on basketball. So the first time I tore it, I was like damn, I’m going to bounce back. Then my second game back, I tore it again. I was like, damn. I had to take another year off of basketball. Then when I came back, it just couldn’t happen. That’s literally when I switched to music.  

Where can people keep in touch with you? 

Instagram but I go live a lot on TikTok. Sometimes I go live on Twitch too. So probably just through those, they are the main ones. Also comments too whenever I post, I’m always reading my comments looking for stuff to react to. 

Photo by Paige Powell