Brasstracks’ high-energy show hits Hollywood


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This Thursday, the electrifying duo known as Brasstracks will bring its sound to Hollywood’s Roxy Theater, filling the air with blaring trumpets and relentless percussion. It’s the latest stop on the group’s  cross-country For Those Who Know tour, which has already sold out venues in San Francisco, New York and other markets before coming to a close in Denver next week.

Brasstracks is made up of Ivan Jackson on the trumpet and Conor Rayne on the drums. The two studied together at the Manhattan School of Music and eventually decided to create together as a group, a dream that became much more tangible once their Lido-assisted cover of Rihanna’s “Four Five Seconds” made them a name to watch on SoundCloud. Since then, they’ve kept themselves busy through collaborations with artists like Chance the Rapper, Anderson .Paak and Khalid, elevating their own profile in the process.

In the live setting, though, the two work in tandem, and have settled into complementary roles that make the performances as smooth as possible.

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“[Conor] will be holding everything down, he’s the anchor that pushes everything forward,” Jackson said. “While he’s doing that, I’m looking into the crowd, and I’m like, ‘Where is the crowd going with this?’ We’ll notice different things in Vancouver than Seattle, and in Seattle we notice different things from Boston; Conor’s internalizing things in a certain way, and I’m looking at things from an external point of view.”

As the two ensure they touch base on their respective experiences after every show, they say their communication has improved as a result of all the time they’ve spent together on the road. Jackson said he and Rayne differ in many ways with regard to personalities and music tastes. Over time, though, they’ve learned how to better voice their feelings and frustrations when it comes to creating music, resulting in a stronger, more authentic final product.

“Communicating about where we’re at, that’s the biggest thing; creatively, where we’re unhappy, and where we want to go,” Rayne said. “But also, at every show, we’ve gotten almost a sold-out crowd, which is really cool to see. We’re thinking about how to keep that sound and keep our audiences happy and interested, but also keep thinking about the next step and pushing forward.”

Currently, Brasstracks is in the process of releasing its two-part EP, the first of which, “For Those Who Know Pt. 1,” dropped in October. Containing features from Robert Glasper, The Underachievers and S’Natra (who will also be performing at their Thursday show in Los Angeles), the duo sought to make a project they felt was more reflective of their personalities, borrowing much from their hometown of New York City and incorporating it into the sound.

“We wanted to create a project that was much more true to us, in a lot of ways,” Jackson said. “It was way more New York City, and it took a lot more from our roots, like the music that we really do appreciate, and hadn’t been capitalizing on.”

Bringing the music of “For Those Who Know Pt. 1” to the stage is always a joy for the duo, tying into their process of recording songs in the studio. Jackson and Rayne say that each environment is essential to the success of the other, allowing them to find new discoveries and further develop their overall artistry.

“If you’re in a good place, and you’re able to a flow on stage and try out new things, you can learn a lot and bring that information to the studio,” Rayne said. “Vice versa, making beats in the studio is all about restrictions, and trying to not insert yourself while leaving space for the music. Then when you’re playing live, you’re like, ‘oh, all this space worked in the studio, let me try and leave some space on stage as well. It’s a really symbiotic relationship.”