Brian Kent has just about done it all. From appearing on television to backing up Kristine W as a dancer, and now he is venturing out into new territory by releasing his first ever dance album.
The album is a pulsating collection of deeply personal experiences set to driving dance beats and high energy, up tempo musical accompaniment. The title track Breathe Life sets the tone for the entire album encouraging the listener to take it all in.
Club-friendly from beginning to end, the biggest drawback of the album is that at points it seems to be trying too hard to be both club music and popular dance music. Kent is an able songwriter and the addition of a bevy of big names from the dance world certainly helps, but lets face it: Kristine W he’s not, but one would be hard pressed to discern from the musical arrangements that Kent was going for anything else. However, he could do much worse than to emulate Ms. W.
Recently Brian Kent spoke with O&AN during an interview about his new album.
O&AN: Congratulations on the new album! You must be very excited about it finally being released.
Brian Kent: I’m very excited about the new album because it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been working on this album for the last year. It’s based on relationships and experiences that were very personal to me so it really took a long time to happen before I wrote about them and turned it all into music.
O&AN: All of the songs on the album seem to come from a very personal space. Why was it important for you to share these immensely personal experiences through your music?
BK: As I started to write material for the album, it was always about the more personal I could make it; the more passionate I could be about it. I feel like writing about the things that happened in my life is part of my process of being an out artist and being who I am, so it became important for me to write about those experiences.
I really started writing whenever times were hard and then when times were good I kept up the habit. After some time, any time anything of importance happened in my life I felt like I had to write about it. I wanted it to speak to the many facets of relationships from romantic to having that special friend or even family. I wanted each song to speak to something different in the mix of emotions and experience.
My hope is that when people listen to my music they can relate to at least one if not several tracks on the album. The title track Breathe Life is very powerful for me. It kind of sums up a lot of what everything else is about. You have to take life in and enjoy and experience everything that goes with it be it good bad or anything else. Breathe Life is the first track off the album as a single and will be the next music video I shoot. All of the songs speak to something powerful in my life in one aspect or another but that one really sets up the listener for what is to come after that.
O&AN: Before the release of this album you have done a number of other things performance wise. Why did you decide to record a record on top of all your previous accomplishments?
BK: Ever since I was a small child I’ve been a performer at heart. The biggest thing that pushed me in this particular direction was working as a background vocalist for Kristine W in Las Vegas when she was at the Hilton. That experience really got me excited about the dance music scene and the energy and excitement on the performance side of it. I feel like this album is really a true expression of myself as a solo dance artist.
O&AN: The album boasts production collaborations with some of the biggest names in dance music like Jack D. Elliot (Reina, Kristine W) and Chico from Rizz-One Entertainment (Junior Vasquez, Katherine McPhee). What was it like to be able to work alongside so many big names on your first outing as a recording artist?
BK: It’s been such and amazing blessing! I can’t stress how fortunate I am to be able to work with such phenomenally talented people who really know what they are doing. I have grown so much as a writer, as a singer and as a performer that I feel like it is a real honor to be able to work alongside people with resumes such as theirs.