On a gorgeous Spring Thursday, in a basement bar in Central London, Kansas-born, but London-based artist Will Brown invited a handful of people to experience Welcome to Brownsville – an EP that launched on Friday the 17th April, but also a meticulously created world and a community.
Speaking with Will after the showcase, I learned that Brownsville was initially created in 2008, but it has taken a while for it to take its full shape. Hugely inspired by Will’s journey of unmasking, which is far from complete, but much further along than when he started, Brownsville now has a map with a house and a Golden Bar, in which we were exploring the songs in. In his own words, Brownsville exists as “a place to escape the problems, but also a place to run away towards the problems”. Built on sold foundations of vulnerability, and reinforced by fleeting moments, conversations, turning points,
Brownsville imagines a space where vulnerability is met without judgement and growth is encouraged. I always tell people Brownsville imagines a world led by love, truly inclusive, open and grounded in respect for every human story.
Will Brown’s Gospel and funk-infused pop is a real sunshine in a bottle. The lead single from the EP, ‘Golden’, reminded me of Ikigai, the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold:
All the pain and all
the goodbyes
No one sees the tears you cried.
I’m trying to explain why you’re broken
Nobody here wants to notice.You look at me who are you to judge
They see broken, I see golden
As someone on my own unmasking journey, I could feel the vulnerability in every note and I came away really inspired by the world Will Brown built to aide his own journey, proving that there is real healing power in music and art.
Welcome to Brownsville is available on all streaming platforms.
