All Photos by Cam Hemenez
Have you ever felt so drawn towards something it occupies your daily thoughts? You find yourself distracted throughout the day if you aren’t working towards what your heart is desiring. You may have dreams with little reminders or ideas for that big project you’ve been brewing up. Sleep becomes a second priority while creation moves to the top priority. I hope that everyone is able to experience these feelings. These are signs that you have found something that feeds your soul.
For artists, this is a common feeling. Anyone can be an artist if they commit to showing up and continue to pour love into what they do. Brandt Bailey, the artist behind Srae Lla Mi, is someone who has that passion and fire within him. Brandt is a good friend of mine and since I’ve known him he has always had a strong dedication to creating music. Stream his new album below:
Album Release Party
I have never been to an album release party until recently. Srae Lla Mi’s latest album hit the internet just over two weeks ago. In honor of the new album, Srae Lla Mi curated an album release party. I expected to just show up, eat some snacks, grab a drink, and listen to music. Brandt decided to elevate the experience.
A few days before the party I received an itinerary of events. The inner event planner in me was ecstatic to see everything laid out and put to a time schedule. Upon arrival, I was greeted with a printout of the album art along with three stickers that also had the album cover printed on them. The party was complete with pizza, snacks, and drinks. The TV was set to a live stream of a beautiful island, we guessed it was Greece. The visuals matched so well to the music it was almost a little freaky.
Enjoying The Inside
Enjoying The Inside is the third album released from Srae Lla Mi. In addition, this is the first album produced all from him with no features. The album is 27 songs and exactly an hour long. Listening to the album from start to finish, you can tell that each song is carefully crafted as one song seamlessly flows into the next. The continuous movement of sound carries listeners on a journey through the mind for a lo-fi adventure.
Enjoying The Inside is quite literally, the inside of your brain. “Enjoying The Inside is about facing the realities of the external world and enjoying it internally. Not every day is as good as it should or could be, but that doesn’t mean your perspective on it or life should be negative or altered” states Brandt. “To me, this album is about smelling the flowers and embracing the never-ending change life continues to bring while being within the moment.” We all create inner worlds and sometimes we don’t want to come out from them. Some days you just want to stay inside and remain inward. This is what this whole album is based on. It’s a great album to throw on for rainy days or any time of day honestly.
Intimate Gatherings
If anyone is like me than you prefer smaller, intimate gatherings to experience music. There’s something about a select number of people being in a space enjoying music that they truly love. While of course I love large scale music festivals, music seems more special when played for only a few people. Rather than being a number that can be lost in the crowd, with intimate gatherings you know you are there for a reason.
In my opinion, with smaller gatherings, artists are able to better curate the feelings they want to evoke for fans. Everything is more personal, making fans feel the love and appreciation artists have for their creations and their supporters.
Support Your Friends
Something I really loved about the whole album release experience was learning how many people had a part in the album coming together. Ashley Hughes drew up the album cover and Cam Hemenez took pictures for the album. We all are surrounded by creative people and watching the collaboration from all different areas coming together is really inspiring.
What projects are you or your friends working on currently? Is there any way you can help contribute to their success? The best way to be happy is to make another person happy. Share your gifts with others this new year!