Meet RnB Duo BREANTONIA. x JAK
BREANTONIA. x JAK is a dynamic duo that’s ready to showcase their feel-good RnB music. The two have joined forces for an upcoming collaborative project that beautifully showcase their strong vocal and production talents. Their new debut tack ‘EXPOSURE’ is the perfect song to ring in this new project, supplying “summery inducing” RnB tones. With more music on its way, we can’t wait to see what else the duo has up their sleeves.
We were able to chat with Breantonia and Jak about everything from how they met, their upcoming project, their sound and more…
Let’s bring it back a bit, do you two remember the moment you fell in love with RnB?
Bre: I actually don’t! I feel like it’s all I’ve ever known so there was never a “moment” for me. I’m the youngest of 5 and my Mum had us all quite young so I feel like I grew up in my older sister and my mum’s POCKET music-wise! I was with them singing and dancing along to songs I had no business knowing! So yea, RnB has been a constant in my life.
Jack: Woah ok, I’d say I started pretty young but maybe not as early as Bre! The first RnB artist I listened to was Corrine Bailey Rae, I think it was the 3rd album I ever got along with Jack Johnson In Between Dreams and Cypress Hill – Black Sunday. All from my mum when I was like 10, funny when I look back on it. Anyway, I loved that first album I and remember playing it front to back on my little CD player.
What moment in your life inspired you to pursue music?
Bre: For me, it was at the end of secondary school; those last two years where it feels like adult life is about to begin and you’ve got to get your act together (HA!). I realised that I couldn’t live a life that didn’t prioritise and centre around music, whatever that looks like.
Jack: I feel it became very obvious, very quickly that music would be the only thing I was going to be any good! If there had to be a moment, I’d say music tech year 11 when I started making beats in class instead of doing my coursework! That made me think, people actually do this for a living.
What does your creative process look like?
Bre: Mine varies depending on what I’m doing. If I’m just songwriting to someone else’s track, then I really focus on the words and the story I’m trying to tell, because that will inspire the melody. But if I’m on the keys and producing the music myself, then my creative process often starts with the chords and the music.
Jack: A little chaotic to be honest… If there’s something in my head, I want it out while it’s fresh. That means I have to work fast and uninhibited so I keep a few instruments around and try to get into the flow as fast as possible. Also being an artist that doesn’t sing means you’ve got to think a lot about how you convey your personality through the sounds you choose. That’s what I’m really thinking.. what makes this sound like me?
How did you two end up linking up for this project?
Bre: I was in my final year of university and really wanted to figure out how I could work in the music industry but still do my songwriting as well – I’ve always wanted to balance the corporate and creative side of music, so it was important to me. My lecturer linked me up with her friend, Verity, whose career was the epitome of what I wanted! So Verity and I connected, and she introduced me to Jack!
Jack: When I first started recording, I worked with this rapper from Coventry, Skatta at Flipside Studios. He makes music for TV and intro’d me to Verity Pabla, a licensing agent. They’re both great. Verity sets me up with artists and that’s how I met Bre.
Okay, let’s chat about your fantastic single ‘EXPOSURE’! It just exudes a “summer love” vibe! Was this the intention? What inspired the record lyrically and sonically?
Bre: I’ll take lyrics! So when Jack and I were playing around with ideas, I came up with a really simple but lovely chord progression that had this bittersweet warmth to it. There was a good mix of major and minor chords, with a few sharpened notes to add suspense, so while it felt loving, it also had a touch of apprehension in it. And I thought… that’s exactly how it feels when you first get into a new intimate relationship. There’s this abundance of emotion and fire, but it’s also intense bearing it all like that with another person. I studied photography a while ago and was blown away at how technical it all was, so when trying to come up with a poetic way to explain this love narrative, I was reminded of that intimacy you share with a photographer when you’re bearing it all in front of the camera.
Jack: Ok sonically! So like Bre said we had this amazing piano and I had some sweet guitar that gave that laid back summer feel. It was lovely but didn’t bring the energy to make it something you’d bop to..yet. I was listening to Ravyn Lenae and NAO a lot and I wanted to meet somewhere in the middle, taking some influence from the Chicago scene but still keeping it London enough. I felt GRADES did such a sick job on those NAO records I wanted to match some of that same energy but then there was definitely some Solange feels going on in there as well!
Will we be getting a video for the track?
Jack: You certainly will. Bre and I came up with ideas with our videographer Olz at the start of the year. We chose some sick spots and threw in some ‘easter eggs’ for the real fans, so yeah we’re excited about that. We’d planned the shoot for March but then lockdown came so we’ve been sitting on it ever since but the time is start filming is nearly here.
Absolutely ecstatic that you’re working on an EP release! What can we expect from this body of work? What themes will you two be exploring?
Bre: The EP is heavily centred around navigating relationships as a millennial. We’re at a really strange time in our lives where we’re juggling the normal societal pressures of succeeding and settling down, but having it that pressure and our mistakes amplified because of technology and social media. I’ve personally seen that directly impact our romantic relationships and each song on the EP focuses on the topic from a different point of view.
Jack: Musically we’ve got some different flavours going on, there’s gonna be a more old school US vibe to some of our tracks. We got some 90s RnB coming through, some Funk but also some slower Bedroom Pop bits as well. Exciting!
With so much going on in the world at the moment, what advice or words of positivity would you give to music listeners?
Bre: I would advise music listeners to be intentional about listening to music. Since lockdown, I’ve barely listened to music and it’s because I realised that I mainly engage with it passively – so it’s always on in the background while I do something else. But I’ve started doing what made me fall in love with music, to begin with, and that’s to put my phone away, get a quiet space, and intentionally listen to music. Listen to the lyrics (I love reading along to it on Genius.com!), research the recording process if there’s info out there, watch interviews about the songs – really absorb yourself in the creativity. It’s such a great and safe escape during these difficult times.
Jack: I mean with everything that’s going on in the world this is definitely a time for change. Unfair as the world is, this an opportunity to do something new and I feel I found a new perspective musically while I was working on this project. It’s good to reset as well and approach your day differently, that was a big one for me. I’ve been cycling around London a lot which is kind of a new one for me, it’s good to soak in wherever you’re living.
Watch BREANTONIA x JAK lyric video for their single ‘EXPOSURE’ below…
