From Chicago to Denver, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer ïnski releases a tale of heartbreak and escapism with his cathartic debut single, "Might As Well Go."
Brandon Jay, a.k.a, ïnski, has used his childhood roots in Chicago's indie rock and jazz scene to sharpen his sound into a bluegrass and folk style while moving to Denver. After landing various gigs across the nation alongside acts like Greensky Bluegrass and Railroad Earth, ïnski decided to hone in on his personal songwriting craft and release his debut single, "Might As Well Go."
The single is said to tell a melancholy tale of anxiety, heartbreak, and escapism in the modern age. "Might As Well Go" is also the first lead single from ïnski's forthcoming EP, 'Belated," hitting digital streaming platforms on November 12, 2021. Through ïnski's delicate instrumentation and soothing production, he wraps listeners into a warm sonic embrace while serenading them with a relatable message.
Listening to "Might As Well Go," the song gently opens with a warm acoustic guitar melody alongside melancholy piano chords that set the song's heartfelt and genuine tone. Once ïnski's soft and delicate vocals appear, he begins to expand on the inner emotions that linger in his heart and mind, triggering fight or flight sensations and leaving him wondering about the future.
This song is truly a sonic daydream; ïnski's honest lyricism alongside his fragile and lush instrumental landscape has this way of falling over our ears like a blanket of relatable emotion. As ïnski leads us to the song's end with his heartfelt and compelling performance, he leaves us in a dream-like state while closing the song on a note of introspection.
Tuck yourself in with ïnski's lush debut single, "Might As Well Go," now available on all digital streaming platforms.
A warm welcome to BuzzMusic ïnski, and congratulations on the release of your relatable debut single, "Might As Well Go." What inspired the emotional and reflective lyrical content within this piece?
Thank you so much, I'm really happy with how this song turned out. I wrote "Might As Well Go" in the late fall of 2020, coming from a rather anxious and weathered emotional state, as many of us found ourselves in the midst of the pandemic. I had also just gone through a broken engagement a few months prior to writing this song, which brought about much of the heartbroken themes heard in the lyrics.
Why did you want to release "Might As Well Go" as your debut single? How does this song introduce us to who you are and the music you create?
Great question. I chose a total of 6 songs for my upcoming EP release, Belated, and I generally felt that "Might As Well Go" best showcased the musical and lyrical themes found throughout the entire EP. This was also the most recently written song to be included on Belated, and I was eager to get something out there that felt genuinely fresh and vulnerable to me.
Did you work entirely solo when creating the soothing instrumentals for "Might As Well Go," or did you bounce your ideas off other musicians or producers?
In the initial writing and arrangement stages, I worked on my own to build out the song. When I was ready to get "Might As Well Go" recorded, I connected with my old friend and producer extraordinaire, Alex Newton. Alex and I attended the same college, the University of Colorado Denver, and had a long musical history together, often sharing the stage throughout years of playing in live music acts in the Colorado/Denver scene. He's got a diverse skill set and musical palette, which complimented my attempts to bridge the folk, indie rock, and pop genres with this song. When we finally got to the tracking stage and were putting final arrangements together, Alex helped build out the beat, wrote the bass guitar parts, and was the man behind those dreamy, droning slide guitar parts.
What was your songwriting process like for "Might As Well Go?" Was it easy for you to convey your emotional message when writing your lyrics?
The melody for the verse and the first few lines of the lyrics came to me while I was taking an evening stroll, but I couldn't get past those first few lines for weeks. Initially, this song was to be a piece on anxiety, as this is something I know I and many others struggle with, especially throughout the pandemic. Eventually, I saw an opportunity to characterize three internal elements - anxiety, heartbreak, and escapism - into a single piece of music that could still be something very personal. Once I defined these three characters and viewed them all as part of my own internal self, the rest of the lyrics fell into place.