Brayden Tabakian: Chill New Artist On The Rise

Brayden Tabakian: Chill New Artist On The Rise

Brayden Tabakian is an artist on the rise whose chill tunes and dynamic vocals are destined for a one-way trip to superstardom.  An album entitled Reassurance was issued via Orenda Artists, jam-packed with captivating songs that will slip into your mind and set the imagination in flight.  Brayden has released quite a few new songs since Reassurance, including Superficial, Recline, Changed and the upcoming Close To You.  Around the arrival of Reassurance, Brayden Tabakian participated in an interview and photo shoot day at Dystopian Studios with Highwire Daze and So Finch Photography.  Read on for an interview we did with Brayden right before the shoot to discuss his amazing song, massive following on Instagram, a tour in Turkey, and a whole lot more…

First of all, where are you based out of and what is your current music scene like?
So as of now, I’m based out of Los Angeles, but I just recently moved from Missouri.  The music scene, it’s cool. It’s growing on me. There’s still a lot that I’m learning, but yeah, I’d just say it’s new.

You just put out a new album called Reassurance.  Is there any overall story or concept behind that title?
Yeah, absolutely. So, the title of it is Reassurance, and the whole idea of it is just giving hope for a better future, I’d say each song is. So I have a song called Worries, and it’s basically reassuring the person to not worry about life, just to simplifying it and then what do we have? Perspective. It’s like try to see it from my perspective or try to see it from their perspective. So the concept is maybe a little bit more interpretive in some songs, but overall it’s just the idea of giving hope to other people.

Tell me about the new single Superficial and the inspiration behind it.
Superficial is cool. I wrote it really last minute before I went to Turkey on tour, and the song is really just about people seeing my relationship as superficial, or if you’re in a relationship and it means a lot to you, it means the world to you. But other people see it as superficial, meaning they don’t think it’s serious. They’re talking about it a lot and I have a line in there where it says, how do we get so controversial? Meaning when did it get to the point where everybody’s talking about us? Everybody’s thinking they know what our relationship’s about.

Recline, tell me about that one.
Recline. So, a lot of times I start my songs by just having a word. I can just think of a cool word in the name, and I’m just like, okay, I want that to be a song. So, Recline started with the word, and then it turned into this whole idea of being relaxed. When you’re in a chair and you’re reclining, you’re relaxing. So the whole song is just saying, don’t think the past, don’t think about your mistakes, just recline. Just relax.

Tell me about Happy.
So Happy is as simple as it gets. I’m basically saying I can make you happier. Kind of like when Shawn Mendez says, “I can treat you better.” Not that I was taking inspiration from that, but yeah, that was a fun song. It has a Latin beat to it, very upbeat and just energetic.

What could one expect from one of your shows? I’ve seen pictures and you’re up and about playing drums and everything,
So that’s the stamp on the show is my drumming. It’s something that I’ve been envisioning for a long time and that I’ve wanted to show to the world, and it’s really me coming in on stage, singing my songs, and then before you know it, I’m getting on the drums and that’s pretty much everyone’s favorite part, and that’s my favorite part as well.

You did some shows in Turkey.  How did those shows come about and what were some of the highlights for you?
Absolutely. Turkey was insane, and it was amazing. It started really a couple years ago when I started noticing I had a Turkish fan base. I started noticing that more and more Turkish followers were coming my way, and it sparked the idea of me doing a Turkish drum cover. So I went on YouTube, found all the Turkish songs that I could find, chose one of the most popular ones, covered it. It blew up in their country, it went viral. I kind of just started building a relationship with that country that led me to getting out there and performing and meeting fans for the first time.

What goes through your mind when you look at your Instagram and you see that you have over, what, like 500,000 followers?  What does that number mean to you?
The number is really… I don’t think anybody with that number can fully process it. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully process that number, but with that said, it’s a blessing that I have that many people that have chosen to follow me. It doesn’t mean all those followers are fans, but for the ones that are fans, that’s what means the most to me.

How easy or difficult is it to play drums and sing at the same time? Is that something you had to develop over time?
That’s probably the hardest thing for me.

Yeah, I can imagine.
Drumming is hard in itself, and then singing’s hard in itself. So, when you combine the two, you’re really trying to find independence between singing and drumming, and I think the hardest part about it is that there’s two different rhythms going on. Like when I’m playing a beat, that could be a totally different rhythm than what I’m singing. So, it’s really hard because I’m training my brain to do both at the same time.

Lots of practice, for sure. Fun question. If your music was a donut, what kind would it be and why?
Oh, man. That is a great question. I think it would be a glazed donut, but with chocolate on the inside. You know the ones that the chocolate’s on the inside when you bite into it? So, it seems maybe a little generic from the outside or has a little glaze to it, but as soon as you bite it, as soon as you get into it, you realize how deep it is and how enjoyable it is.

What’s up next for you?
I am simply just making music and seeing where it takes me.

(Interview by Ken Morton – Photos by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography)

Brayden Tabakian on Instagram