brb. FTW: Cracking The Code Of The Charismatic Pop Trio

brb., these three are shifting the tides of local pop music (Credit: Courtesy of brb.)

Sometimes, it’s the detours that open up to new destinations. For the core trio of brb. – Clarence Liew, Auzaie Zie and Marc Lian – they’ve stayed on course since debuting the project in 2018, veering from their respective roles in CLO, Disco Hue and TRICK. Their headstrong impulses with the new unit ended up reaping huge rewards over the years as they pushed on with the tangential journey, thrusting forward while solidifying into a rooted fixture of the local pop scene. Despite their alias, brb. swiftly became a name that would stay on for a while.

What they have going for them is a slick musical signature that combines pop formulae with r&b and electronic elements, creating a hybrid output steeped in youthful, sensual tones. Exhibiting this effervescence is their fresh sophomore EP, fleur, which they dropped earlier in June. The thing about pop music is that it can be predictable to the point where it feels stale, yet this EP shows the trinity leaping over said obstacle with bravura.

Tumbling through the fleur experience is like running through a tropical lagoon with a gooey filter. brb. take their silky-smooth brand and make it even thicker by tossing in components like bossa nova guitars, funktronica bass licks and chill-hop beat patterns. Stirred in with buttery vocal performances, the EP’s four tracks are ambitious permutations of song arrangement while sticking within the palatable realm of mass indulgence. If you had any cynicism about the state of local pop music, brb. could very well flip your perspective.

Take all of that and mix it with a polished press presence, and you have a group that’s instantly charismatic. With a surging community of fans, the appealing trio – they were also *SCAPE Youth Music Award nominees this year – have performed beyond our borders in countries including Taiwan, Thailand and Japan. In fact, they plan to continue expanding their regional reputation, with upcoming collaborations with acts from these nations. This is a group that’s rich with go-getting drive despite the limitations of the pandemic, and they’re going all in.

For now, the trio share more about the process behind the EP, their route of maturity through the years, and their big plans ahead.   

brb. consists of Clarence Liew, Auzaie Zie and Marc Lian (Credit: Courtesy of brb.)

Hello brb. You’ve all been together for several years now. Do you feel that your chemistry’s grown tighter than ever before?

Yes, a hundred percent. Although we still have a lot to figure out, things have certainly been easier these days.

When coming up with songs, how do y’all split the duties musically and lyrically? Is it a case of balancing each other’s strengths?

I guess that is the fun part right? It’s a lot of experimentation; we know each others strengths and weaknesses so that makes things easier. We simply do whatever sounds better.

Do you feel that the group’s matured since the release of 2020’s relationshit? Or are y’all still riding on the same wave of frenetic, guns-a-blazin’ energy?

Well, we don’t know about guns-a-blazin’ but we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. We released our debut EP weeks before lockdown, and it was a huge challenge dealing with both the pandemic as well as coming to terms with the opportunities that we lost. Productivity was a huge issue at the time. And that is why we only released two songs in the later half of 2020. But we’re back on track and you can look forward to a lot of new music from us.

Now let’s talk about fleur. Would you say there’s a thematic concept or thread of commonality that runs through this EP?

Flowers traditionally signify growth and change. We wanted a sonic representation of that. We had fun with relationshit but we’re really challenging ourselves with these new songs, especially “saint” and “move”.

“There was so much hate and negativity around when we were writing this EP. That was probably our biggest challenge.” (Credit: Courtesy of brb.)

There’s a very gooey, sensual, summery sonic imprint that flows through these four tracks, echoing genres like bossa nova and chill-hop. What influenced this musical direction?

We have been fans of that kinda stuff for a while now. We wanted to put our own spin on it. We also listen to a lot of contemporary stuff and we like to experiment. We’re very privileged to have two producers in brb. so we can afford to try all kinds of different things.

Were there any challenges in the creation of this EP, and if so, how did y’all overcome this?

It was definitely the lockdown. Figuring out our individual tech needs was one; we needed to find platforms that would work for us to work remotely. But the biggest challenge was getting the vibe right for writing. There was so much hate and negativity around when we were writing this EP. That was probably our biggest challenge.

“We love to see what people in different countries are vibing with. After all, trends are subjective.” (Credit: Courtesy of brb.)

Would you say that the pieces you write are love songs? And do these stem from personal, first-hand matters of the heart?

Sometimes, yea definitely. We tend to play on that a lot don’t we, haha! It’s easier to write from experience.

Do you stay in tune with the ongoing pop trends of the world when constructing your material?

Not just pop trends; we look at artistes from all over the world. We love to see what people in different countries are vibing with. After all, trends are subjective.

“Music certainly helps us stay young.” (Credit: Courtesy of brb.)

There’s also a very youthful vibe that pervades your aesthetic sonically and visually, an identity that happens to resonate with the gen-z demographic. Do y’all consciously craft an appeal that’s relatable to younger audiences? 

Hahah, thank you, we try our best! You’re making us sound so old. Well, there is this song by Toby Keith called “Don’t Let The Old Man In”, and I think you can stay young for as long as you want. Music certainly helps us stay young.

In these last few years, brb. has become a sensation within the scene, racking up countless plays and accolades on your belt. How do you deal with this public spotlight, and does it add any pressure?

Really? I think we’re still quite low-key. Our lives have not changed that much to be honest. Maybe back when we were touring; that felt quite surreal and we really hope to start touring again. We’re forever grateful to our listeners. We’ve racked up almost 30 million streams across our platforms so far and it’s wild!

“We all have responsibilities and lives beyond brb. and we’re mindful of our own limits. It’s as simple as that.” (Credit: brb. Facebook page)

The group plans to collaborate with regional artistes on upcoming tracks. Why is this essence of collaboration important, and how are y’all going to choose your partners-in-crime?

Great question! There is so much talent in this region and Asia at large. I think our biggest pet peeve is that – well, at least in Singapore – we tend to look to the West for music and culture. And there is nothing wrong in that, because a lot of great stuff comes from the West. But we have so much to offer here. There are incredibly talented artistes all over Asia and we hope that by collaborating, we can elevate each other and of course produce some amazing tracks.

We collaborate all through social media. We always ask our followers if they have found any cool acts. Our listeners are definitely cooler than us, haha! We slide into DMs and the rest is history.

And to wrap up, it’s no secret that all of you have side music projects. How do y’all stay focused on brb. and not be distracted by these other pursuits?

As with anything, we just need to prioritise. We all have responsibilities and lives beyond brb. and we’re mindful of our own limits. It’s as simple as that.

(Credit: brb. Facebook page)

You can listen to fleur by brb. on their Spotify page. Follow their Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated with their activities.