Q&A - Finn Brodie

Glasgow based indie-folk musician Finn Brodie will release his enchanting EP ‘Home Run’ on 25th August, with the impressive debut featuring five emotive, heartfelt tracks that mark Brodie as an emerging talent to watch out for.

In the lead up to the release of ‘Home Run’, Brodie shared the exquisitely rendered single ‘Ready, Set’, a moving and musically captivating meditation on old loves, lingering memories, and new beginnings.

Finn Brodie has been writing songs and playing gigs since he was 15. Now in his 20s, he has relocated to Glasgow and having come out as trans, his songs are awash with emotion and his unique sound is emerging gracefully and fully-formed.

What was your approach to writing and creating this? Can you tell us more about the creative process?

My approach to writing songs has changed a lot over the last few years. I used to write songs about stories I’d heard or my friends' lives and since coming out as trans that has changed completely - now my songs are a lot more personal. I’ve started to use my writing as a way of sorting through the things I’m thinking and feeling.

I wrote these five songs over the last four years, so the EP has been a long time in the making. ‘Thief’, the second single, was the first one I wrote, and ‘Home Run’, the title track, was the most recent. Even though my life has changed a lot over the last four years, I think that there is a really clear theme running through all these songs (even though this wasn’t deliberate!). 

Apart from ‘Sacred’, which I wrote with my amazing friend and musician Sol Edwards, I wrote all of these songs on my own (in my bedroom). I tend to start with chord patterns, then sing melodies over the top and do lyrics last. I think this gives me a fair bit of freedom when I’m writing - I usually have no idea of what I want a song to sound like, and I think when I sing words off the top of my head they’re usually more personal and honest than if I’d written them down first.

I recorded ‘Birthright’ and ‘Thief’ almost a year before I recorded ‘Ready, Set’, ‘Sacred’ and ‘Home Run’. I went into the studio with the incredible Andy Monaghan (of Frightened Rabbit), who has recorded and produced my music for the whole of my career, not really thinking that I’d make a whole EP, but just wanting to get two singles down. Andy is an amazing musician and producer and tends to have a really clear idea of where he wants to take a song, which is one of the reasons I love working with him. 

We recorded the title track from the EP, ‘Home Run’, most recently. It’s a song about going easy on yourself and knowing that at some point you’ll get where you need to be and it’s okay to take a breath and enjoy the journey. I hope this is the lasting feeling people get from the EP. 

What makes you unique to other indie-folk musicians? 

Honestly, I’m not sure my music is especially unique! I love so many indie-folk musicians, it’s definitely what I listen to most, so I think that shows in my music. I’m not a trained musician by any means, I didn’t study music and I have no drive to create something that’s especially technically impressive. I just love making music and I hope that is clear in my songs and that people connect with them.

I do (these days) always write about my own experiences, and sometimes I worry that people won’t connect with the songs if they can’t relate to exactly what I was going through at the time. For example, not everyone is a trans person who has experienced not being able to come out! But I do think everyone has probably felt out of place at some point in their life and everyone has felt the pressure of other people or society's expectations of them. So hopefully people can relate to the feelings the songs are conveying if not the literal content. 

Is there any advice or words you'd like to share to someone else coming out as trans?

I wrote a tiny (secret) (not so secret anymore) message to trans people on the back of my EP vinyl and CD. I think it says ‘you’ve got this’. That’s my advice really - you can do it. It’s probably going to be hard, but it’s definitely going to be worth it. But I think my other piece of advice would be that it isn’t ever too late to come out. It’s never too late, so there’s no rush. Take it at your own pace, find safe places to be and safe people to talk to. Look after yourself along the way.

Finally, what can we expect from your upcoming Hug & Pint show on the 9th Sept?

I am so excited for this gig! It is my first headline show since coming out and I can’t wait. I’ve got the unbelievable Lewis Ross and Melanie Baker supporting me, and a full band, so you can expect lots of harmonies and laughs and sad songs (and maybe a tiny bit of dad dancing). Hopefully see you there!

Finn Brodie plays the Tiny Changes stage at Connect Festival in Edinburgh on 25th August 2023 and headlines The Hug and Pint in Glasgow for his EP launch on 9th September 2023 with tickets available here.

Follow Finn’s Instagram here

Q&A - manu_facturer

manu_facturer started producing back in 2019. Since then he has had multiple releases on labels such as Still Distant and TNNLYSYSTM and most recently Frenetik.

Supporting the likes of Speedy J, Galaxian, Setaoc Mass, Yant, Ctrls and Liza Aikin at venues around Glasgow such as SWG3, Room 2 and La Cheetah, he has quickly made his mark as someone to watch out for in the scene.

In August of 2021, he started up his night, A.D.S.R, with Kalopsia and 3SBAT as residents. They run bi-monthly nights in La Cheetah.

Describe your sound to us?

My sound in regards to production is very raw. I like to use a lot field recordings for multiple elements of my tracks.

For playing tracks, I like to keep changing the groove going between breakbeat and 4/4 over 3 decks, keeping people on their toes.

Tell us more about your background in music before you became a DJ & producer?

I’ve been working as a door supervisor around Glasgow in various nightclubs over the years, originally starting in the Arches nightclub. Through this, I came to love the electronic scene, It wasn’t until around 2019 I purchased a set of decks and Ableton and started to practice.

Can you give some honest insight into Glasgow's club & event scene right now?

The scene in Glasgow, like many other cities is struggling. The cost of living and the rise of social media have both a major impact on Glasgow’s music scene. People are unable to afford to go out as much but also a lot more are getting into dj’ing as it’s a lot more accessible. With more people playing and less people out it means there is a over saturation of club nights vs clubbers.

That being said there is a massive appreciation for the underground electronic scene, With many club nights pushing great music, building communities and making safe spaces for people to party in.

Where do you discover your music?

I mainly use bandcamp to find new tracks. I follow all my favourite labels there and always keep an eye when they release new works. Soundcloud is my go to for listening to podcasts and mix series.

Tell us more about ADSR and the team behind that? 

A.D.S.R was started in 2021 by myself, 3SBAT(Stef) & Kalopsia(Liam). We started it so that we could play our sound and book artists with a similar style to us. We have brought various artist from around Europe and the UK. The style of music we play ranges from Industrial to minimal, to electro and ambient. Some of our previous international guests include, Galaxian, Yant, Liza Aikin and Ctrls. 

Who are your top 3 artists and top 3 labels ?

Artists: Quelza, Speedy J & Öspiel

Labels: 47, Void+1 & Hayes

what’s coming up for the rest of the year ? 

I have 2 remixes coming out soon. 1 for Kalopsia & 1 for 3SBAT. Both very different in style. I also have quite a few track in the works. We’re also going to have the first release on A.D.S.R, starting with a VA from local and international talent.

Do you have any events coming up?

We have 3 more A.D.S.R events lined up in La Cheetah this year. The next one is the 30th of this month with London based dj Liv.ia, then October 25th and December 27th. We have also got a collab night with Frenetik that will be taking place at a venue in Glasgow, keep an eye on our insta @adsrgla for more details.

Listen to manu_facturer down below.

Picture taken from manu_facturer’s Instagram