Words by Pankhuri Bhutani.
Photography – press.
New York based Artist, Bri Carter, delivers an upbeat and melodic mixture of pop, alt, hip-hop and hyperpop. Growing up, she never really felt like she fit in but found herself in music and used that as a creative outlet to express herself which allowed her to grow in ways she never could have imagined.
Bri Carter’s debut EP was packed with raw emotion and punchy melodies. All seven of the songs are ones to scream out loud, giving the EP an all around feeling of catharsis from start to end. Bri has played live shows in New York and New Jersey, including a “Breaking Sound” performance in NYC, and a “hello soundroom” performance in Philadelphia.
Her latest project “GLAD U ASKED” is a gritty upbeat breakup anthem inspired by the feeling of realizing the breakup can be one of the best things that has ever happened to one, while the other person realizes what they really lost. Packed with catchy melodies and emotions, this song is bound to live in your head rent free.
We recently had a wonderful conversation with the talented Bri Carter in order to discuss insights into her music journey.
Hi there Bri! So lovely to have you over at The Fade In! How are you doing? How has the start of 2023 been for you so far?
Hi! Thank you so much for having me! 2023 has been good so far, I started it off with a super fun NYC show which was definitely the best way to kick off the new year.
I’d love to start this interview by asking what it really was that brought you closer to the field of music? Was it something you realized you had to pursue at young age or was this a passion that emerged during the later stages of your life?
Growing up I always loved music, especially when I was around the age of 15 and learned how to play the guitar. That was definitely a pivotal point for me because it made me want to take music to a different level, rather than just playing songs in my bedroom. I wanted to be on stage and share songs with the world. However back then I wanted to be a rockstar and play guitar in a rock band and be on Warped Tour so things were a little different haha.
When I was in college was around the time that I started making hip hop music and experimenting with different sounds incorporating pop, hyperpop, and even the alternative “emo” sound that I grew up listening to into my music.
When I graduated college was when I was hit with the realization of “wow I want to try to pursue this for real.” I viewed it as a now or never situation. So now I’m 22, been graduated for a year and I’m super proud of how far I’ve come. Music is my life and it’s the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done. I get messages everyday from people saying how much they relate to my music, or how my songs have helped them get through a situation that they’re dealing with, or even just telling me that I need to keep going and never stop making music because it’s something special. And that’s the best feeling in the world and what pushes me to keep pursuing my dreams even when there are bumps in the road.
You are about to release your brand new track ‘Glad U Asked’. Huge congratulations on the that! What was the creative process like with the song? Did you face any sort of challenge during the production stage of the project?
Thank you so much!! I’m super excited for the song to come out. Unfortunately I did face some challenges during the process of the song that caught me off guard and I definitely learned my lesson about certain aspects of the music industry. However I believe that everything happens for a reason and when one door closes, another one opens.
When it comes to creation of music, do you prefer a specific environment to get your creative juices flowing or do you consider yourself to be easily flexible?
To be honest, I haven’t had many different environments that I’ve worked in. All of my songs were made at my little home studio with my microphone and my laptop. I think that’s my favorite way to create, and that’s what works best for me.
I like to be alone, with myself and my thoughts and not feel the pressure from anyone else and just be completely transparent with myself and my ideas and not hold back.
How is this anticipation period going for you? Feeling nervous or excited? What sort of response do you aim on taking away from the listeners in terms of your upcoming project?
I’m super excited for this song! I always get a little nervous to drop a new song in fear that my listeners won’t like it, but I think this is a song that will resonate with a lot of people and give them some bad*ss energy. I like making music that people can relate to, and can sing every word with meaning and feel it in their bones.
What’s the one thing that you think your fans should definitely know about you as a person which they might not get to know about you by listening solely to your music?
This is a good question. I feel like I’m pretty transparent with them. But I’ve never written a song about how much I love my cat, Osiris, so I guess that’s something that they should definitely know. Haha.
Who are the top three artists on Bri Carter’s music playlist right now? Is there anyone on your radar who you would love to collaborate with in the future?
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of J.I the Prince of NY, Julia Wolf, and Dom Vallie. I would love to collaborate with Brakence, Blackbear or Ericdoa, those would probably be my dream collaborations. I feel like our sounds would blend together really well so hopefully one day we can see one of those collaborations happen!
What’s next for you, Bri? Have you set yourself any goals for the rest of this year? Any upcoming projects of yours that you’d like to tell your fans about?
My goal this year is to open up for a bigger artist on their tour. I wish I had some good news to share regarding that but I’m just staying optimistic and working everyday to achieve that! The music industry is rough and super competitive so it’s easy to feel defeated but you just have to keep going and when the time is right it will come to you.
Lastly, is there any message that you would like to convey to your fans reading this interview right now?
I want to tell my fans thank you so much for believing in me and giving me the courage to pursue this dream of mine. And I would like to tell them in return that if there’s anything in life that they are trying to pursue that they need to put all their doubts aside and just go for it. To live a life full of “what ifs?” would be way worse than failing at something but knowing you tried and gave it your all.
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