Oakland pair get in a groove as Brijean
If there is a record for the most forms of percussion on an album, the Oakland duo Brijean might break it with their debut “Feelings.” There are a staggering 26 percussion instruments speckled throughout its 11 tracks — and Brijean Murphy plays all of them.
“There’s temple blocks, an assortment of chimes, cabasa, caxixis, triangle, a metal baby rattle, gongs, shakers, cowbells, tambourine,” she tells The Chronicle during a recent video interview, pausing to think of more before arriving at an obvious one. “Drums — we turned a drum kit on its side for ‘Ocean.’ ”
As she continues down the list, she forgets to mention congas, her first and primary instrument that she’s played onstage with worldtouring bands like Toro y Moi, Poolside and U.S. Girls. It’s also the instrument she was born to play.
Murphy grew up in Los Angeles and moved to the Bay Area in 2007. Her father, Patrick Murphy, was a sound engineer at A&M Records who also played the congas for decorated artists like Tito Puente and Harry Nilsson. The elder Murphy learned the trade from percussion greats like Ms. Bobbye Hall — whose infinite credits include playing with Marvin Gaye, Janis Joplin and Carole King — and Curtis Mayfield’s goto man on the congas, “Master” Henry Gibson.
“She taught my dad that ‘Inner City Blues’ pattern,” she says of Hall, “and then he taught me. He learned different patterns from Henry, and then he taught me those too. They’re kind of like heirlooms passed down.”
Perhaps the greatest heirloom of all was her set of congas, which she inherited at age 14 when one of her father’s closest friends, Neil Diamond’s steel drum player Vince Charles, died. It solidified her dedication to the instrument and to her career as a fulltime musician. “Feelings” comes out Friday, Feb. 26, on Ghostly International.
Despite the group’s moniker bearing Murphy’s first name, the other half of the band is producer and multiinstru
mentalist Doug Stuart, a touring musician with Bay Area bands like Bells Atlas and Meernaa. He studied jazz at the University of Michigan and released the excellent solo free jazz album “Familiar Future” last year under the name Dougie Stu. In Brijean, he forms not only a creative partnership with Murphy, but also a romantic one. In fact, the formation of their musical act doubled as a way to spend more time with each other amid opposing tour schedules.
“We appreciated each other’s musicality as well as being partners,” Stuart says. “It was silly that we still hadn’t made something in earnest that represented us individually and us together. These songs feel like a representation of the light that our relationship brings me on the daily.”
Recorded in Berkeley and Big Sur, “Feelings” is their collective creation of hypnotic and breezy tropicaliatinged tunes. Murphy’s stirring percussion pairs with her airy, soothing vocals on tracks like “Ocean” and “Paradise,” and Stuart’s bass and hazy production feel inspired by the Brazilian composer Tom Jobim.
While the pair made a temporary relocation to New Mexico during the pandemic, they also drove to Phoenix and Los Angeles, and the sonic sunshine of the album soundtracks the literal and figurative winding roads they traversed in less than shimmering times. It’s a reflection of how well they work together, even though they might not be able to present it to the world the way they wanted to.
“When we were making the album, there was a joke and daydreams about pool parties and festival shows. What we created felt really good and then we got (record label) support, which was a dream come true so then we could prioritize time together,” she says before flashing a laugh and a smile. “Now we have extra time.”