For the past year, the super-talented Bruno Major has been writing and releasing a new song every month. It’s an incredible project, as Major opens himself up like few artists are able to do – obviously, the result is stunning.
To commemorate the release, Major has unravelled the full story behind it all.
I recorded and released a song every full moon for a year…
I was always the boy who did his homework the night before it was due, unless I’m panicking I don’t get things done. Making ‘A Song For Every Moon’ would mean I had a deadline over my head at all times for a whole year; it was intense.
Some of the songs came easier than others, ironically I think ‘Easily’ was the one of most problematic. I spent most of November making something I eventually realised I didn’t like. I had to leave for New York later that week and thought I’d blown it and would miss the deadline. In my frustration I got drunk one night with my friend and collection co-producer Phairo and started again. We recorded a new song ‘Easily’ into the early hours – when we woke up the next morning, luckily, it sounded great.
The simplest was ‘Just The Same.’ I wrote it at midnight on the 2nd February in my flat with all the lights off, still wearing my duffle coat. All in all, it only took 20 minutes. I recorded it the next day, sent it off to be mixed and took the rest of the month off. Some songs are like gifts, musical emails that arrive in my brain nearly fully formed and that was one of them.
Everything was going well until April, I was making ‘Fair Weather Friend’ and started to feel overwhelmed. I had a bit of a ‘moment’, so I had to change my lifestyle to stay on track with the writing. I was 8 months in to working without a break and I still had 4 to go so I stopped drinking and partying and started going to the gym. I had to really focus until the project finished in August.
Without a doubt, making ‘A Song For Every Moon’ has been the most important experience of my life. I’ve learned some lessons about myself, for one that my perfectionism can cripple me creatively. I had to learn to let go, as whatever happened at the end of each month I had to put something out, even if I thought it sucked.
The best thing is, by virtue of not having time to overthink I ended up making better music. My manager Sam and I acted as our own record label – we released the whole project independently with some money that he personally loaned me, and in a year, we went from next to nothing to 30 million streams. That’s something I’m really proud of. In November I’m taking ‘A Song For Every Moon’ on tour around Europe and America. It’s going to be a special moment.
‘A Song For Every Moon’ is out now.
Catch Bruno Major on tour:
1st November – Zone One at Elsewhere, Brooklyn SOLD OUT
3rd November – The Echo, Los Angeles SOLD OUT
10th November – Kantine am Berghain, Berlin
11th November – Paradiso, Amsterdam
13th November – Pop Up Da Label, Paris
15th November – Omeara, London SOLD OUT