DAVID JOHN BRADY music
BIOGRAPHY
David John Brady is a composer, producer and electronic musician whose solo and collaborative works seek to bring alive compassion, connection and emotion.
Born in Toronto, raised in Sheffield and currently based in Leeds, David began learning piano as a child, and today uses organic samples, processed field recordings, cassette loops and instrumental sequences to create his signature hypnotic soundscapes.
David’s 2021 release, (M)other is a soul-shaking, electronic journey through attachment and interdependence, and his latest singles Heartmath, and Arrows into Flowers are soaring ambient explorations of themes like fear, resilience and the tension between rationality and emotion.
Having played in several contemporary rock bands as a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and vocalist, David has a profound understanding of how sounds blend to create stirring musical stories that shift perspectives and arouse new feelings.
With a firm belief that music is one of our most powerful tools for processing pain, practising mindfulness and embracing vulnerability, David layers and manipulates sound to create a unique, chaos-defying catharsis.
Influenced by everything from Bach’s complex counterparts to Bonobo’s soaring soundscapes and the atmospheric ambience of Ólafur Arnalds, his music draws inspiration from both expansive scientific thought and classic musical technicality.
Since 2020, David has been one half of Collision Tapes, an experimental acoustic-electronic collaboration with Canadian cellist, Jake Klinkenborg. The duo’s debut album, Expand Never Stop, is a musical exploration of space, time and human nature, written and produced from either side of the Atlantic. David and Jake are currently working on Collision Tapes’ follow-up single.
Press and Testimonials
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"...Recursia perfectly encapsulates everything that can be great about lo-fi music... This level of deep-thought and complex composition has been employed across the entire album; Brady has created an anthology of stories and emotions with Recursia"
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BBC Radio Leeds 'In the Mix' - 10 minute bespoke mix featuring 'Aeons, Arrows into Flowers' and 'Object is Constant/Permanent'. Introduced by David John Brady on BBC Introducing West Yorkshire with Emily Pilbeam, aired 21st May 2022.
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“If you’ve had a bit of a hard week, maybe you need a bit of a chiller, I know I definitely do, then this is exactly what you need right now. It is the sound of the summer mix from David John Brady, but it’s a bit more chilled out and I really really like this and David John Brady is going to tell us a bit more about himself as well.”
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“Sound of David John Brady in the mix on BBC Introducing in West Yorkshire. I adored that sound of the summer mix, I hope you did too”
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BBC Radio Leeds airplay - The following tracks have been aired on the BBC Introducing West Yorkshire show:
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Bad Tendencies - 28/11/2017 - presented by Alan Raw.
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(M)other - 06/04/2022 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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Heartmath - 23/04/20222 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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Arrows into Flowers - 07/05/2022 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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"Really liking the stuff we're getting from David John Brady at the minute"
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Mary - 25/06/2022 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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"His mix was sublime"
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Aeons - 06/08/2022 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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"Breathtaking tune from electronic artist David John Brady... really really like that"
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The Light to the Right (feat. Kate Ryrie) - 22/10/2022 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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Cloud Chamber - 23/01/2023 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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Nod - 13/05/2023 - presented by Emily Pilbeam.
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"The sound of David John Brady… I reckon that is his best tune to date, really enjoying the sound of that”
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Other Radio Plays (UK) - The following tracks have been aired on UK based radio stations:
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Arrows into Flowers - 29/06/2022 - 'NCCR In the Moog' presented by Chris Watts.
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Arrows into Flowers - 04/07/2022 - North Manchester FM presented by Joseph Figueira.
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Heartmath - 10/07/2022 - GlitterBeam Radio presented by Lucas Gil.
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Chris Delemere (Soup Review) - "David is always a dream to work with. I have always come away from our sessions together not really feeling like we've done any "work", usually we've had a laugh and a play but also, somehow, we come away with a couple of complete recordings too! That's one of David's great qualities as a producer: he manages that difficult balance of focus and productivity on the one hand with fun and play on the other. He's a steady head with a whole raft of studied techniques at his disposal, but at the same time he is prepared to follow a whim.
The biggest project we worked on together was '50 Songs About Pizza' back in 2016. I brought in one sprawling song, the confused premise of which was 'What if Pie and Pizza were deadly rival football teams who both had access to magic spells and curses?'. Each section of the song was in a different tempo. I didn't know where to start. With Captain Dave at the helm, things took form. We recorded the introduction outside on a balcony, we layered varying percussive textures to keep the song moving but rooted through the verses, and David played a lovely countermelody keyboard part to anchor the chugging chorus. Somehow after a day's work, an unwieldy idea had been corralled into a pop song recording ! As dubious as the material was that I was presenting him with, David never showed any doubt. He always offers practical support and enthusiasm!
I am most indebted to him for his work on the recording of my song 'Peace And Love And Split Gravy'. I think his production (all recorded and mixed in one day ! ) took the song up into the echelons of Modern Day Christmas Classic. He really captured the mixture of humour and real emotional resonance that helps the song connect with people.
I can't recommend working with David enough!"
JD Roberts - "Dave is a pleasure to work with; he is punctual, reliable and engaged, and invariably friendly and courteous. When I've gigged with him, he has arrived to soundcheck on time, set up efficiently and engaged professionally with the sound engineer. His music is engaging, interesting and creative, well-crafted and elegantly-composed, with a fine attention to the details of sound design and mixing creating spacious and intricate compositions which can nevertheless be enjoyed by audiences with any level of musical knowledge. The slick but complex aesthetics and musical depth of his compositions and live performances speak to Dave's skill with and knowledge of sound tech. It is always a privilege to watch someone with such a command of their tech perform! I have had good experiences of working with David, and would happily vouch for his professionalism, competence and friendliness."
Collaborations
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In March 2020, David began a collaboration project between himself and Vancouver based cellist, Jake Klinkenborg. To date, they have self released two singles and their debut album; Expand Never Stop.
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Collision Tapes are currently in the studio working on their follow up second album.
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In 2021, David was invited by best investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author of 'The Outlaw Ocean' to musically collaborate by writing five tracks.
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Outlaw Ocean is "a global effort to collaborate with musicians for the purpose of disseminating the journalism to a younger and more diverse audience"
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Though David has more recently decided to remove his tracks from the Outlaw Ocean portfolio due to creative differences, working with Ian induced a new style in David's compositions and productions and provided valuable collaborative experience.
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Releases
