Los Angeles-based indie rocker Brookelen is unquestionably one of the most exciting acts I’ve been listening to lately. She blends orchestral arrangements, alt-rock, primal rhythms and intimate storytelling into her innovative artistic vision. Moreover what Brookelen does really well is engage wholeheartedly with the listener. She refuses to sit still or become complacent always offering the best of herself. This can immediately be felt in her bunch of new songs – Omen, Hide and Shadow – taken from her forthcoming six-track EP, Dark Side of the Sun, out in late October. There is, admittedly, a surprise or two, about Brooke McKnight, the vocalist and guitarist behind Brookelen, that I didn’t expect. Recently, I had the chance to learn more about her music project. Here is some of what we talked about.
Brooke, could you walk us through briefly the last few years in the life of your Brookelen project? What’s it been like since you debuted Time to Go?
Time to go was about leaving a hard place and chapter in my life, creatively, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s been nice to look back and see all the things that have blossomed musically since then. I quit drinking, started playing live with a band I love consistently, and am creating and growing with vigor. I found a renewed connection to the lifesaver that is music. Time to Go was arriving in Los Angeles and I’m here now.
Throughout this entire process there’s been a lot of growth, exploration, and play. My second EP, going going gone, which I put out last spring, feels like a continuation of the personal and musical transition I’ve made since Time to Go.
If you were to pick three songs from your catalogue, which songs do you feel would best introduce your music to a new listener?
1. Heavy Pill 2. Omen – off the upcoming EP 3. Blur
I’m a big fan of PJ Harvey and I’ve written about Fiona Apple, Liz Phair and more recently Björk. They were a huge part of my listening habits in the 1990s, alongside bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam. I understand you are a big fan of these influential women? What is it about their music that you admire?
What I admire about the women mentioned above making rock music in the ’90s and beyond is their ability to disrupt the expectations and spaces they have been placed in. Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey, and Liz Phair all bring incredible lyricism together with incredible music, and that union is something I strive for. I’ve always seen myself as a writer, a person of words first, but music is my true longing. I love the way they made and continue to make music out of difficult, deeply personal experiences with total lack of inhibition. Take songs like Fiona Apple’s “Sullen Girl,” PJ Harvey’s “When Under Ether,” or Liz Phair’s “Flower.” I find it powerful to take experiences that are painful and private, and articulate and turn them into something undeniable. Their fearlessness in their personal music is something I really admire and want to carry into my own work.
Before we move forward, I’d like to look back briefly at two of my favourite Brookelen tracks – Numb and The Sign. Both have great moments, especially the jangly guitars of Numb and your beautiful delicate vocals on The Sign. Lyrically, love and heartbreak are universal experiences that connect instantly with listeners, I guess that is why these songs stand out to me. How have songs like Numb and The Sign helped you in your development as a songwriter?
Those songs remind me that vulnerability can be a form of strength and healing. Writing “Numb” helped me articulate paralyzing pain points out loud. My tendency toward escapism and numbing myself in an attempt to be less of myself wasn’t working anymore. I’m interested in being as honest as I can, even when what I’m writing about is scary. “The Sign” was one of the first songs where I really started exploring my feelings around commitment avoidance and self worth in a more open way. Both songs taught me that there can be something really freeing about writing a “sad” song.
I think you described Omen your latest track as a witch-rock-inspired track. Were there any influences, artists or songs that helped define the groove for Omen specifically? It is certainly aggressive and dissonant (in a good way).
I was just listening to more punk music like Bikini Kill, Mannequin Pussy, Babes in Toyland at the time this track was conceived ~ when I was writing I felt inspired by their nature: abrasive, confrontational, and real as hell. Also all the screams.
I understand Omen was inspired lyrically following the aftermath of learning about your ex-boyfriend’s engagement? And the music video is something else! I like how you tackle your pain with all the visuals, especially the moment you are being cut out of your wedding dress. It’s a great metaphor. Can you tell us a behind-the-scenes story of the making of the video or even some of the visual themes that are present in it?
The video is filled with little omens and symbols that hint at the emotional world underneath the story. Rabbit figurines and cats appear throughout, carrying a sense of intuition and instinct. The color red, from the walls to the shoes and dresses, represents desire, visibility, action, and passion. There’s also a lot of play with shoes and dressing up, which speaks to identity, performance, and trying on different versions of yourself. Black became a color of empowerment for me, especially in contrast with the traditional symbolism of the white wedding gown. And, of course, my bold black guitar! Destroying the wedding dress was a way of rejecting an expected role and future, and choosing something more unknown and self-determined: music, and myself. The books on the shelf act as omens of the stories and expectations that shape our lives, hinting at the possibility of rewriting our own fate possibly…idk. All these little omens throughout the video are about transformation and breaking apart from an identity or story that no longer fits.
Is Jessicka Addams (Jack Off Jill, Scarling), who appears in your music video for Omen, a close friend and mentor? And is there anybody in particular you’d like thank for their guidance through your life journey and career so far?
Jessicka is a dear friend, and I was so lucky to be introduced to her through my main visual collaborator and the director of the Omen music video, Isabella O’Brien. Jessicka really resonated with the song and with the vision Isabella and I had for the music video, and it felt very natural to have her become part of the world we were creating! She is the blueprint! She also has one of the coolest homes I’ve ever seen. It’s gothic, inspiring, and haunting in the best way. I honestly feel like I could live in her library and stare out those stained-glass windows all day… As far as guidance through my life and career, my mom and all of the women in my life play such an essential guiding role. They inspire me every day.
I understand the working title for your song Hide was “demon”. I love your opening verse. It gets straight into it: “Demon in my chest? You make it hard to swallow? What I want to put to rest…”But Hide certainly is so much more than just an exorcism song. Could you elaborate a bit about its inspiration? What does it mean?
“Hide” is about purging something that you know is bad for you, even when you’ve become deeply entangled with it. Inspired by my personal struggle with substance abuse and the ways those experiences have affected my life. The “demon” became a way of giving that feeling a form, something I could confront and try to release. For me, the song is ultimately about recognizing what is hurting you and finding the strength to let it go.
When did you first pick up the guitar? And what is your go-to guitar in the studio and when out on tour?
My grandmother gifted me a steel-string Blue Ridge acoustic guitar when I was 15, which was really the beginning of my relationship with the instrument. I grew up playing the violin classically but once I got a taste of guitar, I wanted to go electric. I got my first electric fender strat (squier) guitar a year later on Facebook Marketplace. I’ll be playing on the East Coast this November, and I’m planning to bring my 75th Anniversary Fender Stratocaster with me. I just got her set up nicely by a new friend and I’m excited to take her on the road.
Finally, you’re about to release your new six-track Ep, Dark Side of the Sun, in late October. How did that come about and what are some of the themes you wanted to tackle?
My band and I recorded dark side of the sun live in a recording studio at the start of this year. It was an amazing and new experience to have my live band write their own parts and bring the songs to life all together. Up until this project I’ve just worked one on one with various producers. I love hearing my songs transform when other people bring their own instincts and touch to them.
Dark side of the sun is an oxymoron, which is part of what I love about the title. The sun is the brightest and most life-sustaining force in our solar system, but the phrase suggests a hidden, other side that burns equally as much. That tension felt like the right container for these songs. It feels very much like a California record to me.
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