Spring 2023 sees the return of one of the UK’s most exciting new talents, the singer/producer/songwriter briskin. The young north London artist heralds his return with his stunning new single ‘Chemicals’
Drawing on briskin’s various influences (from alt-pop to G-Funk and psychedelia), ‘Chemicals’ is a slinky, melodious track, ‘Chemicals’ is wreathed in a sense of hazy calm which belies its paranoid, narcotic themes.
“Chemicals is a song I wrote about my strenuous relationship with weed although the metaphor could pertain to a host of different things” briskin explains. “It draws on a kind of circus/clown aesthetic which me and Alex Naim (who ended up producing this one) were exploring. The walking bassline and pitched up guitars give it this kind of goofy feeling which I fell in love with.”
Born in North London to Israeli parents, briskin first began learning piano at age 8 and quickly established himself as something of a musical polymath. Inspired by his obsession with Frank Ocean, The Beach Boys, and his dad’s love of the Beatles he started crafting his own sound while still a teenager and has been working on his complex mix of pop, hip hop RNB and electronica ever since.
In 2020 he dropped his debut mixtape, ‘Forever was a Feeling’, which was produced by mentor and ex-Klaxon Jamie Reynolds. If that release marked a full stop at the end of his teenage apprenticeship, then ‘Chemicals’ (along with more new music coming this year) is him fully setting out for himself, producing more and defining his musical direction. And along with his new sense of musical individuality has come a new name, as he decided to shorten to briskin after releasing music previously under his full name, Daniel Briskin.
“I feel like I didn’t allow myself to be a normal person for a long time. A lot of what I was doing in my everyday life was centred around the way that other people perceived me. I think sort of separating Daniel from “briskin” gives me that extra space”
‘Chemical’s signals a fresh start for the young artist, and with more new music to come, it looks like 2023 could be briskin’s year.
