Braison Cyrus faces busy months ahead. Currently on tour with his sister, Noah Cyrus, the singer, performer, producer and songwriter wrapped up a set at Emo’s Austin on Wednesday. In September, Braison released “Know This,” featuring his sister, Miley Cyrus, signaling a new era, with plans to release a full album in the spring. Braison sat down with The Daily Texan to talk about his new music and new direction.
Daily Texan: How would you describe “Know This,” your new single, to someone who hasn’t heard the song before?
Braison Cyrus: White trash Mumford and Sons. … That was the vibe I wanted to go for, even though I said that as a joke. I wanted to go that direction, anyway, but put a more southern spin on it and a more Nashville spin on it. As the production developed, we went from tasteful to gaudy really quick. We kept on adding one banjo and then two banjos, and then more stomps and claps and yells and things like that. I wanted to mimic this sound because Mumford and Sons, their first huge song, was my junior year, senior year of high school, and I really liked it. And then I started listening to them again, right as I was writing this new record. I wanted to do my own spin on the stomp and holler kind of thing.
DT: How would you say the theme of your art has evolved?
BC: I would say “I’ll Never Leave You,” my very first single, is something that feels more like what I would make now. Weirdly enough … I was almost ahead of what I was capable of at the time. I’m almost trying to get back to where I was for that song, and then through doing that, I dialed in exactly what I want this record to be, bridging together my first release ever with what I’m doing right now.
DT: What are you most excited for about this upcoming record?
BC: Most of the stuff that I’m doing now, like touring and talking to people. That’s what I love about it. I have more to say about this collection of stuff than I did my first record because by the time that record came out, I had already forgotten why I even liked, wrote or played those songs. (With this new album), it is very fresh in my mind why I wrote it, recorded it and what I wanted it to do.
DT: What can fans expect from your set in Austin?
BC: New songs that people haven’t heard off the record. Basically, my entire set is songs off the new record. So I feel like people can expect to hear things now and then in a couple months whenever the whole record comes out. They’ll be (like), “Oh, I heard that song live. That’s cool.” … So I think you’ll hear the songs more as I originally planned them to be, which is very stripped-back acoustic and minimal production. … I’m not really going to make the set until the day of the show and decide what I feel like playing that day.
