The versatile East Coast artist and singer-songwriter Brian Borcherdt highlights a dreamy and smooth-sailing lead single, "Baseball," off his third studio album, 'Dusted III.'
After the release of his debut album, 'Total Dust,' in 2012, Brian Borcherdt began carving a unique musical path for himself, which leads us to his third studio album, 'Dusted III.' Brian Borcherdt made his musical debut as a part of the band Holy Fuck, which featured on major TV shows such as Breaking Bad and Mr. Robot and ranked over 200K monthly listeners on Spotify while accumulating over 5 million career streams to date.
Currently releasing his 11-track album, 'Dusted III,' Brian Borcherdt mentioned that the project consists of acoustic-based demos found on his old hard drive. Now highlighting the second track on the project, "Baseball," Brian Borcherdt delivers an incredibly meaningful concept surrounded by soothing acoustic instrumentation.
"Baseball" opens with a wavy and soft keyboard arrangement met with Brian Borcherdt's warm vocal stylings. As he begins describing scenes of a beautiful woman always on the go, he later delves into his emotional words that expand on wishing to flee from his past and finding himself sleeping with a baseball bat by his side. We adore the soothing and calming instrumentation, as it offers a captivating essence.
As Brian Borcherdt continues his heartfelt performance, the soft and down-tempo drums make their way in alongside the accompanying keys, guitars, and Brian Borcherdt's soothing stylings. Not to mention the addition of a tranquil brass section, the song comes to a tender close, and we're left wanting to dive deeper into Brian Borcherdt's entire album.
Find "Baseball" on all digital streaming platforms, and catch Brian Borcherdt's third studio album, 'Dusted III,' while you're at it.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Brian Borcherdt. We can't get enough of the soothing tones and honest lyricism within your latest single, "Baseball." What inspired the theme and concept of this single?
This was a rare moment where I wrote and demoed a complete song in one sitting. I tend to write a song and then kick away at it in my imagination for a long time, sometimes years, but my wife needed a song for a school assignment, something as a soundtrack for her cinematography course. We were living apart and I was feeling a bit depressed, about the separation and maybe life in general, so I put that into a song. I just wrote it honestly and quickly and sent it to her that weekend. Listening back to it now I hear how it's a song of empathy - again it's rare that I write a narrative, with characters. This song has these fictitious characters and even a kind of narrative arc, picking up somewhere in a story of two people giving up their defenses for one another.
Why did you want the instrumentals within "Baseball" to be so chilling and calming? How do the instrumentals complement the song's lyrical theme?
I'm always learning, I try to be a keen listener. I'm finding more pleasure in bare, stripped-back arrangements that do not adhere to default 'safety nets'. I try to minimize overdubs and I rarely use a click track. I like to float a bit, so this arrangement, Wurlitzer, upright bass, and vocal felt really bouncy with swagger yet was totally free, just floating. It mirrored some of the optimism in the lyrics. On one hand, the protagonist is admitting 'I feel like shit and I need you,' but it's that admission of 'needing' that invites a change and ultimately joy. It's a pop song to me.
Did you work solo on the creation of the instrumentals and songwriting for "Baseball?" Or did you team up with any producers, engineers, or session musicians?
This is something I produced, but it was engineered very skillfully by Chris Sandes at Palace Sounds in Toronto, ON. He set up a bunch of mics, of which I used very few, and my friend Robbie Grunwald got the demo the night before and worked out parts along with Bret Higgins on bass that morning in the studio. It was just a matter of them nailing a take. I think we chose the second, maybe even the first. I was in the room kind of conducting and mouthing the words. I immediately laid down the vocals so that it wouldn't turn into homework. We then had a follow-up recording session where I arranged a horn part for my friend Shaun Brodie to play. The drums were actually the last thing to be added. I was tempted to leave it without drums at all, but I'm glad I changed my mind. It was a very simple mic set up on the drums, allowing it to sit in a nice tight spot... so much so that I was able to record a second pass of drums to get kind of a tubby, loose feel.
How does "Baseball" fit into the overall vibe and concept of your latest album, 'Dusted III?’
To me, it stands apart. It was mixed by Jarvis Taveniere whereas almost all the other songs were mixed by Shuta Shinoda. I think it just brightens up the album where it needs some light, and otherwise, the album stays pretty much in a moodier, contemplative place.
What's next for you?
I've started a new record that is more of a full band thing, and to sort of balance that energy I'm beginning another that is the opposite. I just have to find the perfect, quiet space to record it as it'll be just guitar with two live voices, myself and my surprise guest - singing our parts live like an older record would've been made. I have a few other bands on the go - one is a more cinematic, 20th century classical kind of thing, so I'm not sure where that fits. That's something new for me and outside of my familiar circles.
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