Intricately placed shimmer reverberates off of dark leather and electronic synth… welcome to the multifaceted world of Branwell Black. You’ll find an affinity for the daring and a (good) bit of drama surrounds this London-based electro rock singer.
A musician from modest origins, his listenership is engulfed by a wide breadth of creative expertise. It’s clear music and innovation are in Bran’s blood. Not only is he rhythmically talented, Bran has also modelled for the likes of industry heavyweights like Vogue and Elle. Bran’s authenticity and flair for the flamboyant has gained him recognition from Pride’s Got Talent and even became the Youth NextGen 2024 Fund winner.
With an impressive roster of performances, Bran has sold out the O2 Academy 2 Islington and the Underbelly Hoxton. Most recently he just hosted a headline performance on September 27th at 93 Feet East. Support included Ziön x Siobhán, Pillbox Jam, and Cameron Goon. Fans raved over Bran’s interactive performance style, bringing fully fleshed-out choreography onto the stage alongside backup dancers, Verity Morris and Marianne Ward. He sported a Britney era popstar-esk microphone, accompanied by band members Amy Drums and Sam Bowesy.
I got the chance to chat with Bran about what it truly means to explore untraversed lands, and how leaning into people’s misconceptions may be of benefit. Read more to gather some insight into Bran’s creative process, his background in music, what it means to push past the doubt and negative feedback, and how he truly builds his own musical world… You can either step inside with us, or get left behind… your call. Just know your refusal comes with a lot less glitter.
So tell us about yourself, who are you and what’s your vibe?
Originally I did a bit of electropop but I’ve been going heavier as time’s gone on. I used to be called a hybrid popstar, but now I’d consider myself more of a hybrid ROCKstar.
Tell us more about the vision behind your performance style?
As a male entertainer there’s a gap in the industry where people aren’t necessarily giving a show like female entertainers are. Obviously there are some brilliant male entertainers, but I just feel like some stunts, smoke and mirrors – that’s all so exciting. As the viewer I wanted to see that, so I guess I had to do it myself.
When you first started singing, what kind of drew you to the performance side of it?
I’ve been singing since I was a kid. I sang in France as a choir singer. The area that we lived in was a place called Tulle and the presidents would come down every year to do this march, so we would end up singing for them.
My brother was a singer prior to me, singing in front of President Sarkozy and Holland. Now it sounds funky or cool but it was quite normal to do that where we were. We knew President Holland really well, actually.
I think because I did so much classical singing, it led me to want to move a bit more. I guess maybe it was my rebellious side of wanting to do a complete 180.
You mentioned earlier that the iconic Britney Spears impacted your musical direction. Who else inspires you?
As a kid I was probably a bit odd because I only listened to symphonic metal. I was into bands called Epica, Nightwish, and Evanescence. Love them, also love P!nk.
Those genres had a sense of everything all at once. It was just so full on that it inspired me – kind of avant garde, glamour, drama.
How do collaborations play out in your personal process?
So I don’t really like performing on my own. Just standing there, I get bored. Performing with other artists and dancers, collaborating with a band, producers – I just find that so much more enjoyable.
Something I’ve been talking a lot about is this concept of world-building. With a more collaborative vision – you’re bringing people into your musical world. Is that how you feel about it?
It’s funny you should say that because you know, I was on this singing contest when I was 17 in France. Not my shining moment, I won’t lie, but it was a really good learning experience.
I remember the judges saying to me, “Nous êtes peut-être pas de votre univers”, which means “maybe we’re not ready for your universe right now”. They could already see me in my own universe, I’m thinking at 17 – I already have my own thing going on… Maybe that was them saying they’re just not ready for me, just yet.
You create your own universe and whoever wants to be part of it, they can. It’s like that Charli XCX lyric where she pulls you into her world when she goes, “welcome to my island bitch”. If you want to, you can come and if you don’t – that’s fine.
I personally believe there’s nothing worse than being a neutral space creatively. I would so much rather people love and hate me than be neutral, what do you think?
Well I mean I won’t lie when I was a kid I wished it would’ve been like that. I was either loved or despised… there’s never been an in-between.
I’ve done some cool shows like Liverpool Sound City. I had some people come up to me and say that they had such a nice time because they could tell I was being myself on stage. On the flip side I’ve had people in the past tell me, ‘you’re absolutely terrible, you’re the worst thing I’ve ever seen’. They’re repulsed by it, which I think is the funniest thing.
How have you gotten past the negative feedback?
I started in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere where they just didn’t get my references at all. I was doing glam rock or electropop and people were just like “what the fuck are you doing”. As I was experimenting with my sound I had to deal with so many people telling me “Oh my god, you are awful”.
That gave me thick skin and helped me realise that I didn’t have a massive ego. I was just doing it for fun. Looking back as a kid, I basically got told I was shit for ten years until people started saying, “Oh my god, this is great”.
People say that you have to believe in yourself before anybody else does, you might even have to be a little crazy for it to work. What do you think about this sentiment?
I looked back when I was younger and I was taking risks that I’ve not actually seen just any 14 year old take. I was doing rock and roll stuff with my brother. At the time, I created an altar ego – I called him “Jumpy Smith”. We ran with it and went full electronica and did dance breaks, even changing my whole outfit. I was just having so much fun, singing and writing songs that I didn’t care about what anybody thought. It’s trial and error.
I still remember an interview where Britney Spears was being compared to Christina Aguilera. She said something like, “I think she’s a brilliant singer and I wish I had her voice”. She also said, “I don’t necessarily think I’ve got a great voice but it’s the feeling that I get when I perform”. You can’t just do it to get everyone else’s approval, you’ve also got to do it because you get something out of it.
I look back and think “fuckin hell”, I was being insane and I was 14 thinking, “this is the vision this is what I plan to do”. I remember my dad, after one of the first shows – he said “I’m not going to lie, I didn’t expect you to do it. I thought you were going to chicken out and not do your dance break”.
I think that was when he realised that I was a bit crazy.
What’s your genre?
I’m an Electro-Rock, himbo.
Love!
I find that hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity within culture is making this new wave. There’s this sort of allusion of aesthetics. People assume you’re just an airhead bimbo yet you’re fully producing, writing all these songs, creating a whole vision, being a director… people only see the facade.
“Oh yeah but you’re just a bimbo”… like what? I feel like taking that and claiming it for myself. It’s almost a hit back at everyone by saying, “OK fine I’m just a trashy little himbo” even though I’m doing all the work.
I did a music video a few months ago and I planned it all. I had to go through the vicar to do it. They were concerned, saying, “we are worried, we want to make sure it’s not a satanic stunt”. All the outfit changes, the choreo, I planned the whole thing and directed it all in four hours. Yet everyone still thinks of me as some stupid himbo so i’m like, “okay cool, well then I guess I am!”.
When you have a really fun, silly aesthetic and then put all the foundation underneath it. You become the two.
You also mentioned that you’ve got this god-like alter ego on stage and you don’t give the audience anything they want. Tell us more about this?
My dad always taught me, when you’re on stage you kind of become this persona. You’re untouchable because however long you’re on stage, that’s your moment.
My dad was in really cool punk bands in the 70s and 80s. I always remember my dads lead singer was kinda like how I am now. There was a guy who was crying his eyes out during my dad’s show and pointing at him screaming: “I’m so much better than you, you’re fuckin shit”. My dads singer, Keith said “yeah except he’s up here and you’re down there”. I always remember that. At the end of the day just getting on stage in the first place is inspiring and telling your story is a beautiful thing.
It’s your moment to show your best foot and really excite people. To appreciate that at the end of the day if anyone’s going to try to put you down, you’re on a platform and well what are you going to do about it? This is my ten minutes, you’re going to hear me.
(laughter) I’m probably a bit of a bitch on stage to be honest…
How do you hope your music impacts people?
I want my music to make them feel liberated, I want to create a sense of community. I’ve got a new song on my new EP called ‘Sell My Soul’ which is about, “if I was anyone else then I’d sell my soul’. Right now, who I want to be is who I am so it’s sort of this metaphorical meaning.
It’s meant to be a chant song where you sing it kind of like a mantra. I’m proud of who I am. I’m in the place I need to be and if I can create a sense of community within that, I think that would be beautiful.
Where would they be listening to it?
So to be honest I’ve always cared more about performing, I love releasing music and creating a body of work, but live shows are my thing.
I love performing at festivals so I think festivals are where I’d want people to hear it, alternative festivals. I find the weirdos, the creeps, and the kids that sort of maybe don’t feel like they’ve found themselves. I’ve had people who listen to me make friends with other fans and they always get on like a house on fire. I just think that’s really special.
One of my favourite bands, Tokyo Hotel, created a sense of community with people who were scene, emos, I’d love to recreate that feeling. I don’t need to be the leader of the pack, that’s not my goal, but I’d like to be part of it
Where’s your go-to place for a post-show drink and what would it be?
Okay I’ve got two answers, there’s two sides of the coin here.
I’ve got a lot of LGBTQ+ friends. We’d go to some queer quirky gothic club. This is going to be so trashy but, my go to drink is vodka that I’ve put in a pouch and brought to the club. I’m not going to lie, even if I was super rich I think I’d still do it, and then just ask for a soda.
But if not, the other side of the coin…
I’ve got a lot of rocker friends and I just love a spicy margarita. Always salty.
What were you most excited about for your last headline show?
Getting to perform my newest songs on my upcoming EP, which is called Archangel. The latest it’s coming out is April, but there will be singles before.
I’m doing something new with my vocals – my producer said ‘I didn’t know you could do that’. I said, “I didn’t know I could either”, but I discovered that I can do screamo in falsetto.
If you could give advice to your younger self before you knew what was coming, what would you say?
Try harder to work with more musicians and just say, “yeah, you may just think I’m just some trashy try hard but I bet we’ve got a lot in common”.
If you see a guitarist at the bus stop, go up to them and say, “you’ve got a guitar, tell me why”. There are so many occasions that I wish I had gone up to the cool guitarist with a mohawk.
A self proclaimed “Emo Himbo Blondie”, Bran explains that sometimes being underestimated can be a superpower. Often assumed to be a beautiful dummy, or “himbo” he asks us to question what that actually even means. As someone who not only performs his own music, but also creatively directs every step of the process, one starts to wonder just how someone without a fine-tuned sense of self could achieve as much.
Bran wants his fans to feel at home through his music. Hoping to provide a place of solace for the “weirdos”, the “freaks”, people who feel like they don’t quite have a community. The multifaceted singer wants us to question our connection to ourselves in a way that provides us more space to create. He finds it important to push past our fear of rejection but also equally embrace the process. Encouraging us to try a bit of everything and adjusting when we find that something sticks.
Playing into alter egos is part of the game, I suppose. Although Bran is all kinds of lovely in person, on stage – he’s untouchable and he’ll let you know it. Keep up with him on Instagram so you don’t miss his next show, and keep an eye out for his upcoming EP. Launching spring 2025, you can expect a body of work as dance worthy as it is innovative.
Follow Branwell Black On Instagram
Shoot Photographer: Sanvid Photography
Live Photographer: Tim.jpeng
Words: Lauren Bulla