Brayton Bowman is one busy bee. After releasing his EP ‘Here | Now’ this past winter, the 21-year-old electro-pop singer from Philadelphia released “Skin Deep”, the follow-up single off his upcoming EP ‘The Update’. Through the power of the internet, the world has quickly caught on to Brayton’s incredible talent (#slay) and his quirky, but undeniably genius and entertaining, tweets.
Brayton holds nothing back in his music – his vocal abilities shine through on songs like “Jaywalk” and “Privacy”, and, as shown on the track “Stephen”, he isn’t afraid to send shout outs to the heartbreakers, à la Taylor Swift. When he’s not releasing bangers of his own, you can find him ‘refixing’ songs like Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time”, interacting with his fans on Twitter, rehearsing for upcoming shows with artists like Betty Who and CRUISR, or working towards his debut album. Next, look out for ‘The Update’, which is set for a June release.
On this MUSIC MONDAY, I caught up with Brayton to talk about the inspiration behind his new single, working with powerhouse and friend MNEK and the artistic holy trinity.
What is your new single “Skin Deep” about and what inspired it?
“Skin Deep” is basically my Tinder boy’s lament. It’s a song about realizing you’re only dating someone because of how they look in their selfies. It’s shallow, and frustrating, but we all do it.
“Skin Deep” is produced and co-written by MNEK. How did you connect with MNEK and what’s it like making music with him?
Truth be told MNEK and I connected on Twitter. He was in NYC on vacation and I hit him up to see about writing some songs. The rest is sort of history. When I say that nothing in the world is as incredible as making music with this man, I’m not exaggerating.
How would you describe your sound?
Sass. Stank. Soul. /// or “90s-R&B-influenced-electronic-pop” if we’re being technical.
You also recently released an EP, ‘Here | Now’. How has your sound evolved from that EP to your new material?
If anything I’d say the vibe has gotten a little more electronic which is exactly what I’ve been looking for. In terms of the writing I’m definitely in a different head space than I was when I wrote the first EP and I think you can feel that in the songs. The tracks off of this next EP really paint a picture of what life feels like for me right now and I’m stoked to see what people think.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Stevie Wonder. Amy Winehouse. Beyoncé. Sort of my artistic holy trinity.
What are you listening to this MUSIC MONDAY?
I listen to a TON of my friends’ music. My baby girl Kate Stewart just put out a song called “Keeping You Up” on SoundCloud and it’s been my jam for months now. Pleaseeeeeee go check it out, it’s low key the song of the summer…look alive.
Where can fans find you online?
Twitterrrrrrrrr. Twitter is like my lifeblood at this point. It’s the only place I can really talk directly to the people that are listening to my music. It’s an invaluable resource for me and I’m always there. If you tweet me, chances are I won’t miss it. @braytonbowman
When can we expect a full-length album?
That’s a hard question to answer. When I first started this whole journey of independent artistry I promised to give myself time to put out 3 EP’s before starting to piece together my ideas for my first full length. My timeline has always been to have my first LP out by the time I’m 23 which leaves us approximately 15 months… stay tuned.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully breakfast because I’m ravenous! 🙂 No but seriously, everything is very open ended at this point. I have a show next week [in New York] I’m super excited for and I am heading to London in June to start work on new material but I never really know what’s next and that’s the best part. The only thing I’m sure of is more new music. It’s coming pretty soon and I’m tooooooo ready to share it with y’all. Till then & much love XX –B
Thank you, Brayton! Be sure to follow Brayton’s social networks and SoundCloud so you don’t miss a thing.
Listen to “Skin Deep” now:
https://soundcloud.com/brayton/skindeep
