Hide Tide Interview With Brooklyn Michelle

Shooting a series of amazing shots with our photographer, That Kid Carter, we got to chat with Brooklyn Michelle on her most recent album “Lithium”, her creative process & her craft outside of music in which we hope for you to get a better introduction to a rising artist who make a huge breakout role in changing the music scene in 2020.

Q: From your previously release single tracks to your album Lithium, you can hear a new essence to your sound, was that something worked on or were you lost in the music and what were hearing is all emotion?

Brooklyn Michelle: The new essence you hear is actually what I had been writing all along. The singles I had released prior to were fun tracks I quickly made but it was irritating me that no one had gotten a chance to hear my true sound yet. I had been working on Lithium for 7 years and I refused to let the world hear it until I felt it was ready. This album was truly my therapy.

Q: 16-tracks is usually long to see in an album but I felt with this it was special to have all 16 to tell your story, was that always planned or did something change to initiate a new idea?

Brooklyn Michelle: The original plan was actually to have 22 tracks. As I was getting closer to the end of the whole album process I started to realize 2 things. 1. I had 2 different styles of music on this album. And 2. I didn’t even have the attention span for 22 songs in one sitting. The original intention to Lithium’s sound had this Trip Hop influence to it and over time I noticed I was becoming inspired by artists like Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. So I decided to take off the more jazz influenced tracks to save for my sophomore album, which I’m already so excited to release. By then I aim to have my jazz band together to tour with.

Q: The leap to move forward with creating a fascinating project, what was your favorite track off the album? was it the process or the story behind it?

Brooklyn Michelle: My favorite track is I Don’t Mind and it actually used to be my least favorite. There are 6 different versions of this song because I rewrote it so many times and I almost gave up on it entirely at one point. I actually didn’t even know what I was writing about on the chorus until my friend told me what sleep paralysis was and I realized that is exactly what I was describing. I was constantly so interrupted in my sleep when I lived in San Marcos because this stupid alarm in a feild behind my apartmnet would go off every single night and no one knew what it was coming from. I was so angry one night I just got up and recorded the alarm on my phone so that’s what you’re hearing in the beginning of the song. You hear the train transition the tracks at the end too because this just irritated everyone in San Marcos.

Q: Why the name Lithium for the project?

Brooklyn Michelle: So I knew bipolar disorder ran in my family before I wrote the album and in high school I noticed the songs I put on Soundcloud at the time were contrasting so much in mood from one another. Based off my family history and what I realized I was already doing inspired me to make a project that actually had contrasting transitions intentionally. It wasn’t until after I finished the album that I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder myself though. Go figure.

Q: Did you have any inspiration during the writing of the album?

Brooklyn Michelle: I started making Lithium when I was 14 and I was listening to a lot of Kid Cudi, Gambino, Chance and The Weeknd at the time. Someone recently told me my sound reminds them a lot of the Weeknd’s Trilogy and I had completely forgotten how much of an influence he actually was to me discovering my own sound. I don’t listen to much Lana Del Rey on my own anymore but I remember the day I heard her song “Born To Die” is the same day I produced my first song ever “Space”. A song that will never see the light of day haha. So production wise these artists inspired me a lot. Writing wise I can only be inspired by what I’m actually facing. I only write music when I need to channel my emotions into something productive to keep myself from going crazy. I really respect artists that can sit in the studio and make a beat with an engineer and write a verse on the spot. That’s so cool to me but I don’t know how to do that. I wish I could be one of those people who actually enjoy making music with friends in their down time but I just don’t. I get really bored. Music isn’t really a fun hobby to me. It’s just a coping mechanism.

Q: Outside of music, we know you do art, what inspired you to first start doing it? and does it still inspire you or is it something else that helps build the inspiration?

Brooklyn Michelle: This is exactly why I started painting. Because I get so bored of making music haha. I also wanted to find a way to monetize off something else that made me happy because obviously no one makes real money off just music in the beginning. My day job is taking care of sick and disabled dogs and a lot of my clients have actually ordered painted portraits of their pets for their home. So many that I’m booked with dog paintings for 3 months. I would just like to make it clear to anyone reading that I WILL PAINT SOMETHING OTHER THAN YOUR DOGS.

Q: What is your favorite thing to paint & why?

Brooklyn Michelle: NOT DOGS! Haha! I’m about to start a nude series actually of a few different people who have either sent me photos or are taking photos with my photographer friend, Madeline Ritter. I’m going to use metallic paints for their highlights and it’s going to be really cool and pretty and I’m so excited and I think this is a run on sentence. I’m not sure what my favorite thing is to paint yet but I can’t wait to find out.

Q: Have you already begun planning for 2020 or will it happen the more you move forward?

Brooklyn Michelle: Music videos. Music videos. Music videos. I found out I like directing videos more than anything I make. So much I want to start doing it for other artists too. Working with Jacob Glombowksi has to be the most inspiring process I’ve ever been apart of and I want to continue making the majority of my videos with him. He’s a genius. You can also expect a lot more singles from me too. I decided (for now) that I want each album process to be me going back in my hermit hole and writing/producing the whole thing myself. Though my singles I’d like to collaborate with a lot of other artists and producers. I’m releasing my favorite single ever “Found It” early 2020 that I made with a producer in Philly, TwoFifteen. Maybe I’ll drop my sophomore album too but considering I lied about releasing Lithium for 7 years straight probably not.

Q: If you can collab with any artists, producers or director in the near future, who would it be and why?

Brooklyn Michelle: The only artist I really really really want to work with is Anderson Paak. I think he would vibe so well with the style of my sophomore album. (Which yes I have the title too but I’ll probably change my mind like 12 times and come back to the original idea later anyways). A producer I would love to work with is Kenny Beats. That’s an entire album I would gladly collaborate on. He has a different production style than I do that’s more fun. I don’t want all my songs to be so emo haha. Though I don’t know how well I would do on The Cave considering I can’t freestyle for sh*t. It would be an entertaining episode to say the least. And I know I said I want to make the majority of my music videos with Glombowski but one day I need a video with Nadia Lee Cohen. She is my favorite director right now. Her style is so colorful, retro, weird and kinda gross sometimes too. It’s perfect.

Follow Brooklyn Michelle on Twitter & Instagram below.