by Peter Brizick
After three years of trials and tribulations, Philadelphia’s Brielle has re-emerged with her EP, The Rough Breakup. It’s a six-song collection of soulful and psychedelic work that took her on a rough road through personal experiences and professional misfortunes. The combined challenges would have halted most dreamers and pursuers, but Brielle obviously cannot be categorized as one of the “most”. Her persistence reveals a deeper strength, commitment, and artistry than you typically find even among the class of individuals who march to the beat of their own drum believing that life has something greater in store for them, like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Although Brielle has always been involved with music, she initially attended Saint Joseph’s University as a biology major before making a major decision. “When I left Saint Joseph’s, I knew I was gonna pursue music seriously, so I decided to at least start at the Community College of Philadelphia until I figured out what I wanted to concentrate on”, she says, “and there I studied sound recording and production. That’s when my passion for production and arrangement took off.”
In listening to the EP, you can easily tell that the songwriting is complimented by a keen awareness of how to arrange for various instruments and weave together overlapping vocal parts. Brielle also spent some time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she connected briefly with HD, hip-hop artists and also students at Berklee.
“We only recorded one project which was gold but unfortunately never put out the entire release due to musical differences,” she explains. “Clearly I have had the crappiest luck with musicians, but I am hoping to get rights to one more song off that project called Back to the Basics because it deserves to be heard.”
Shortly after her Berklee experience, Brielle returned to Community College of Philadelphia to continue her studies, begin work on new materials, and to also care for her newborn son. During this time, new material had been released with the co-operation of her producer with whom she ultimately had a falling out. The differences between the two ended with Brielle having to pull the material off of the internet and, for the time being, relinquish her rights. She began anew with another producer who ultimately clashed with her and, in a fit of rage, deleted all of their work, leaving Brielle with nothing but the base tracks to use.
“Well, to be honest, things like that happen when you are young and inexperienced,” Brielle shares, “and also when you decide to co-produce materials without paperwork. Amateur mistakes.” In the end, though, she regained her material without having to hire an attorney or appear in court.
When asked, Brielle will easily tell you that of the songs on The Rough Breakup, “144,000” is her favorite. It is full of symbolism and meaning that can be considered metaphysical and even religious in nature. She is often asked about the meaning of the number and you can find one of the answers in the Book of Revelation, chapter fourteen. The selection reads, “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”
Many believe that the 144,000 are God’s modern-age chosen people, selected to help usher-in the final days. For me, I hope to not meet any of these folks anytime too soon because, well, that would mean the time is truly short; but I love the idea and the song itself is also my favorite of the collection.
As for 2015, assuming it is not the end-times, Brielle sees herself dividing her time and efforts. She states, “Right now I’m just working on a few collaborations as well as my next solo project. I’m also getting more into short films and skits.” Of equal importance, she will be completing her program at CCP where she is finishing her last class. Let’s hope that the next three years-worth of work will be somewhat easier than the last three for her.
