Yes, it's still winter, but Little Rock musician Braelon Leniear has released the year's first jams that sound like the perfect soundtrack for hot summer nights.
Leniear, who records as Brae Leni, dropped the five-song EP Voco Loco on Feb. 1. The quick hit sampling — the whole thing is just over 10 minutes long — is a sweet collection of bedroom chill-soul soundscapes and sonic sketches with Leniear's often digitally enhanced, multi-tracked vocals supported by minimalist, '80s-infused synths, electronic plinks and subtle beats.
It's a follow-up to last year's similarly enjoyable Love Light EP and The Drift, a long-player that combines sexy club beats, sci-fi sounds, social consciousness, rap, rock and smooth, atmospheric R&B.
Leniear also released the single "Make Sho'" last year. The track, his most popular so far with over 132,000 streams on Spotify alone, is funky, dance-floor bait that brings to mind Pharrell Williams' ubiquitous 2013 single "Happy" and features a wickedly dirty guitar solo by Jordan Craighead, who also produced the track.
Along with his recent flood of studio releases, Leniear is also busy performing and DJ'ing around Arkansas and the country.
But he's no newcomer. The 28-year-old Leniear has been around music most of his life.
"I've been singing since I was 5 years old," he says after a soundcheck last month at Rusty Tractor Vineyards in Little Rock. "When I was going to Carver Magnet Elementary, I was always Michael Jackson in the school plays. I was also always in church choirs and school choirs."
He graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 2010 and released his first album, Love Bomb in 2012 after a series of mixtapes.
Early on, he says, his sound was closer to neo-soul.
"I was young and was trying to force myself into one genre. Sonically, it wasn't there yet."
His recent work is more reflective of him simply following his muse.
"I'm here to tell you I've grown a lot. Now, my sound is just creative; whatever I feel is what I'm going to put in the music. As long as I put my soul into it, I feel like I can call it soul music."
Talking about his songwriting process, Leniear says: "Imagination, experience and observation are my three biggest songwriting tools. They are what help the creativity flow."
The Drift features collaborations with the likes of Bj Soule, Samone Shantelle, Ashton Hollowell, Brittany McFadden and others.
"I tried to work with everybody in the state," Leniear says. "I want to show how much talent we have here."
Regular band members and collaborators include Craighead, McFadden, Hollowell, Andrew Tripplett, Corliss Thomas (who Leniear calls "the baddest bass player in the world") and others.
Leniear keeps busy playing locally but says he hopes to hit the road soon, including performing at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
"I'm trying to get out of Arkansas to let new ears hear my music," he says. "I'm going to try to hit up Texas a lot and try to work on some stuff in L.A. and [New York]."
There are also plans for a possible two-week tour of England, he says.
Leniear certainly won't have to worry about being short of material. Along with what he has already released, there's even more new music on the way.
"I've already got an album to release in April, and I'm about to drop four singles in the next five weeks," Leniear says. "I'm just trying to put out good, funky, soulful content and keep being myself."
Weekend on 02/27/2020