Leanne Hoffman and Braden Nelson (Brdnn, Moonwake) have emerged from their respective solitudes of the last year to embark on a mission, four singles long, beginning with “Self Control.”
While the past year providing all the impetus the heart could ever desire for new projects, not to mention plenty of opportunities (albeit through roundabout ways), Nelson took the occasion as a personal challenge to push himself out of his comfort zone.
Referencing inspirations like the Thai funk band Khruangbin, Nelson says he wanted to move well beyond the confines of his comfort zone to explore new sounds.
“Fun was the goal with these tracks. I wanted to create something that people could dance to with feel good grooves and some weird tones here and there. Experimenting and discovering new sounds is my favourite part of recording,” says Nelson.
Having previously worked on the 5-song EP of Nelson’s synth-pop Asymmetry Project that also featured Jessie Brown, Leah Kays, and Scott Nicks, Hoffman seemed an easy fit as as a songwriter, especially when it came to her voice and melodic style.
“The song that Braden sent me for the Asymmetry Project was a style I’d never written on before,” says Hoffman. “It was intimidating and exciting and once the song was finished, I had this renewed sense of confidence in myself and my writing ability. I couldn’t wait to do something like that again. It was a lot of fun, and sometimes I forget music is supposed to be fun. This was a great reminder.”
“I knew I loved her voice but I’d never heard it on something like this before. I thought it would be a really cool combo,” adds Nelson.
Aiming for something very new and yet a creative use of their own respective influences and abilities, “Self Control” seems to be a wonderful metaphor for exactly those abilities. Or, rather, it’s the sense that you’re going into any given situation, full armed with all the abilities, know-how, and common sense that could ever be required of you, and then you shoot yourself in the foot by doing the complete opposite.
Sometimes you just need to spice things up, right?
Not that Hoffman and Nelson have made any missteps here. When it comes to a fun and relatable track, “Self Control” is anything but counter-intuitive.