Q&A: The World is Almondmilkhunni’s Ride and We’re Just Here to Enjoy It
JERSEY-BORN AND PHILLY-RASED — Brandy Schwechler may have picked out the stage name Almondmilkhunni as a joke while working as a barista who put almond milk in her drinks, but the R&B-hyperpop artist is one of the most serious rising independent acts of recent years. Between racking up millions of streams, building a devoted fanbase on social media, and performing at Day N Vegas with headliners Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Schwechler has carved out a niche space for herself in the current music scene.
After the breakout success of her independently released debut single, “Grapefruit,” featuring Evander Griiim, Schwechler quickly attracted the attention of Electric Feel Records. Under the label, she released her self-titled EP, which gave listeners hits such as “Bandana” and “Cherry.” The two songs are feel-good, R&B-influenced dance tracks, the latter of which spawned a remix with breakout rap star Flo Milli.
Even though she was steadily racking up streaming totals, Schwechler reflects on how this time was creatively stifling. “It didn’t leave me a lot of room to explore who I actually am,” she shares.
But all that has changed with the arrival of Enjoy the Ride, Schwechler’s first independently released album.
“It just feels like a relief, honestly,” she says of the record being out. “I think there were moments [in the past when] I had ideas of where I wanted to go with the sounds and the lyrics… and with a label, it’s a bigger machine so it’s not always just about what you want. But being independent, you don’t really deal with that. It’s given me the freedom to have fun with a different sound.”
Photo by John Liwag
That freedom comes through loud and clear across the album’s 11 bold, semi-experimental hyperpop tracks. Though Schwechler’s inclination for a catchy hook shines through on songs like “MISS U” and “BODYBAG,” the album doesn’t hold back from stranger, more surreal moments. Album opener “intro” clocks in at exactly a minute, consisting of the singer’s heavily computerized voice recounting a dream (“Well, it was actually a nightmare,” she says) about the complete dissolution of her identity over haunting atmospheric synths. The album’s interlude is an upbeat electronic instrumental reminiscent of the kind of music we might have gotten if Yoko Ono had an e-girl phase.
As varied as the sonic elements of the album may be, one major throughline is the lyrics’ attention to issues of mental health. Schwechler has openly disclosed that the inspiration for the project’s lead single, “liar,” is her eating disorder, which she addresses head-on in the song. “I can’t trust you to tell me the truth, and I don’t need you like you think I do,” she declares on the track.
On her collaboration with Kailee Morgue in “ANXIETY,” both singers implore in a near-shout, “Is it you?! Is it me?! Or is it my anxiety that’s fucking with reality?” This idea of dissociation from the real world comes up again on “COMA,” as Schwechler sings, “A temporary coma is the remedy I need / I’ll come out when things are better, take some pressure off of me.”
“I wrote these songs with others in mind who are going through similar things,” Schwechler explains. “I think it’s authentic and real to who I am. So that’s why when I meet people who have listened to it [and they say], ‘COMA really got me out of a super dark place,’ it’s just really intense and intimate, because that’s what writing that song did for me.”
Schwechler has had more opportunities to meet fans lately, thanks to her first two headlining shows, which she played this past month in New York City and Los Angeles. “Everything kind of went just exactly as I wanted it to,” she admits, grinning. “We spent so much time rehearsing and practicing that it just took a lot of the doubt away from it, so I was super confident. Mostly I just wanted to be able to kind of be myself more, like those moments where I’m talking a bit or giving a speech… That was really important to me because I just wanted to be able to let people know me more.”
Without a doubt, Schwechler’s personality and stage presence were the biggest stars of her Club Cyberspace shows. Stage setup was minimal, with only a track rather than live instrumentalists backing the singer, but the light design, Schwechler’s energy, and the crowd’s engagement were enough to carry the show on their own.
Throughout the night, young women exchanged handmade friendship bracelets in the audience, a concert trend popularized by Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. It’s a testament to what a genuine, personal relationship Schwechler has built with her fanbase that one audience member gave me a bracelet with the word “NUGGET” — the name of Schwechler’s pet cat.
Now that her first headliners are under her belt, Schwechler is eager to continue her work in the studio.
“There’s definitely part two,” she says coyly. “We already started on it, and I already love the direction it’s going in. I think it’s gonna be fun — I hope it’s a little more experimental because that’s what I love.”
She speaks with the ease of someone totally comfortable with their own tastes and artistic vision. Wherever the ride of Almondmilkhunni’s career takes her, it’s clear she’s enjoying it already.
