Photo Credit: Edwin Keeble IV
Written by: Nuance Editorial Team
In the world of music, where the release cycle is as predictable as the changing seasons, singer/multi-instrumentalist Brooks Hudgins stands out as a bold exception. Through his band, private browsing, Brooks has unleashed an astonishing six albums in just six weeks, abandoning the traditional timeline for singles, EPs, or album releases for kinetic artistic consistency.
Originally from Los Angeles, Brooks Hudgins has become a fixture in New York's underground scene as a House producer and DJ. Crafting his first house track at 14, he quickly progressed to performing live, spinning his first set at Edinburgh's Why Not nightclub.
Not one to be boxed into one genre or lane, Hudgins started private browsing to explore different sounds, from more guitar-centric indie-rock on their third LP, Slant, to dance-floor-ready techno and sample-driven breakbeats.
As Brooks Hudgins prepared to make another lane shift with an upcoming country album, he realized he was sitting on a heavy treasure trove of house, dance, and breakbeat records. He had no good reason not to release them–other than it wasn't the norm.
Bucking tradition, Hudgins dropped a new 6-track EP every Friday for 4 weeks in August: Everyone in McKinney is Dead, Nosebleeds in the Strip Club Again, Airdrops from Mad At You Island, and Baby Gap Archetype—before dropping the new Saving Private Browsing earlier this week.
In a candid interview with NUANCE, Brooks Hudgins discusses his unconventional approach to music, the industry's current state, and how he finds inspiration in community and creation.
Photo Credit: Edwin Keeble IV
Hudgins's motivation to start releasing music more frequently stems from a frustration with the traditional release process, giving insight into the emotional rollercoaster artists often face. The buildup, the anticipation, and the usually underwhelming aftermath can lead to what Hudgins describes as "postpartum depression," where the fixation on numbers and external validation can overshadow the art itself.
Yet, it's this very struggle that led to a liberating breakthrough for Hudgins when he started releasing music on his own:
"The best part about this was the freeing experience of: it's literally me and the Distrokid Autobot, and I just slip it in there three days before, and it just appears on Spotify as if I had a label, which is the beauty of music in the modern world, which is also what's probably tearing streaming apart at its seams. But I'm glad to be a part of that."
Being able to quickly release projects on his own, Hudgins set a deadline for a new project every Friday, a change he describes re-inspired his approach to music:
Photo Credit: Edwin Keeble IV
"It puts a little bit of kinetic energy into what can be such a stagnant industry–where there's no music without money, and no money without music…”
“…So, nobody does anything ever except for the top 1% of artists, who can just do whatever they want, go on any tour, and they pay for the entire industry as a whole. Which is great, but that's like Mitt Romney economics; we know that doesn't work. So, now something's got to change, and I feel like the only way to change it is to commune with everybody in your scene."
Reflecting on the New York underground scene that he's come up in, Hudgins describes how the variety of specific genres and styles in private browsing's recent discography reflects the unique tastes of his artistic community:
"For me, in New York, the most common scene is the indie rock scene and the dance scene. The people that are out there on the, you know, Wednesday, Thursday nights at Bossa Nova, or at Nowadays, and they're the producers and they're the DJs…”
“…That's how it used to be. There wasn't this same sort of pay to play, and then you become a superstar in this industry. It used to be: you play a record, nobody likes it, and then you start working together. You play together. You build a community, and then people appreciate that community, and it grows, and then you become a scene. I feel like it's kind of back to the roots of it all."
Hudgins' approach is a refreshing departure from the norm, and his story is a beacon for aspiring artists who seek to carve a different path. By embracing the unpredictable and the unconventional, Hudgins has expanded his musical repertoire and redefined what success can look like in an industry often too rigid for its own good.
To other artists struggling with the stresses of major-label releases, Hudgins shares a piece of advice: "Momentum is the most powerful motherfucking thing in this industry. Everybody who's out there, sitting on six albums, the number one thing that I say to you is: start putting it out."