Just ahead of an extensive tour throughout the UK and EU this Spring, BIG|BRAVE shared the tactile new single “innominate Nº vi” from new album OST, out April 25th. The piece serves as an ode to the band’s subtlety, combining metallic scrapes, a droning low-end thrum and otherworldly textures that bely guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie’s wavering hum. Each gesture is viscerally felt and inspires close listening.
BIG|BRAVE’s preternatural instincts and depth of skill as musicians are on full display on their most naked and austere record to date, OST. The trio entered the studio with broader concepts and themes in mind, but no preconceived music. The overarching concept was to make a film score for a film that had yet to be created, to use minimal instrumentation, or more specifically not their standard band instruments, and to improvise within these parameters. “Although this record could stand on its own, we envisioned it being paired with moving images, which introduced a fresh and exciting way of working,” notes guitarist Mathieu Ball. In addition to forgoing their usual instrumentation, they notably built their own. Ball created a stringed instrument using piano strings simply called “The Instrument”. This instrument ended up becoming a central figure to the OST’s sound. Guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie adds: “The strings Mathieu used for his instrument came from a discarded piano thatch that had been laying around in the hallway of my tattoo studio for ages. It took a lot of work to get the strings off but then he made the instrument in only a few days. It blew my mind.” The Instrument’s presence is felt throughout the record as a conductive element amplifying the album’s earthly nature, grounded nature.
OST was fully written and recorded in the studio. The band was free to enter the live room and record a take with whatever instrument was at hand. The record features Wattie, Ball, drummer/percussionist Tasy Hudson, engineer/producer Seth Manchester and MJ Guider’s Melissa Guion. Following OST’s completion, BIG|BRAVE contacted director/visual artist Stacy Lee to visually score the record. Director Lee and BIG|BRAVE, having previously collaborated, had established an artistic understanding which allowed BIG|BRAVE to give Lee no instruction, no limitations: the creative process synthesized across film and music. Select screenings with live performances are in the works.
BIG|BRAVE’s tour, which starts in one week, includes sets at FIAS Festival, Roadburn Festival, and a special “sonic faceoff set” with The Bug in London.
BIG|BRAVE tour dates
Mar. 27 – Leuven, BE – STUK ‡ [tickets]
Mar. 29 – Paris, FR – Main D’oeuvres ‡
Mar. 30 – Pau, FR – La Ferronnerie ‡
Mar. 31 – San Sebastian, ES – Dabadaba ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 2 – Barcelona, ES – Sala Vol ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 3 – Valencia, ES – 16 Toneladas ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 4 – Madrid, ES – FIAS Festival/Teatros del Canal
Apr. 5 – Braga, PT – Gnration [tickets]
Apr. 6 – Lisbon, PT – ZDB ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 8 – Montpellier, FR – L’antirouille ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 9 – Grenoble, FR – Le Ciel ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 10 – Fribourg, CH – Fri-Son ‡
Apr. 11 – Piacenza, IT – Warmup Desert Fox Fest ‡
Apr. 12 – Innsbruck, AT – pmk ‡
Apr. 13 – Zagreb, HR – Mocvara ‡
Apr. 15 – Prague, CZ – Bike Jesus ‡
Apr. 16 – Berlin, DE – Neue Zukunft ‡ [tickets]
Apr. 17 – Braunschweig, DE – B58 ‡
Apr. 19 – Luxembourg, LU – OOTC Festival
Apr. 20 – Tilburg, NL – Roadburn [tickets]
Apr. 22 – Cambridge, UK – The Portland Arms ‡
Apr. 23 – London, UK – The Garage – A sonic face off with The Bug
‡ w/ MJ Guider