Q&A: An Emotionally Charged Chronicle of Youth, Hablot Brown Releases Their Self-Titled Debut Album ‘Hablot Brown’

Q&AMusic

Aug 16

☆ BY Sophie Robinson ☆

SERVING AS A TESTAMENT TO THEIR CREATIVE GROWTH — Los Angeles–based trio Hablot Brown released their new 12-track R&B/ alt-pop album, Hablot Brown, on August 5. Three years in the making, this self-titled album is a fruitful offering to listeners and stands out as a mature, genuine, and well-crafted addition to the band's discography. Each track on the album is intimate and sensual, finding the perfect balance of soothing rhythms and upbeat funk to keep listeners entranced.

Having first jammed together after meeting seven years ago at Boston’s Berklee School of Music summer program, the three-piece have come a long way. Singer-songwriter Linus Hablot from Singapore met Boston-born twin brothers, Austin Daniel Brown (guitarist) and John Sterling Brown (drummer), and the high school friendship blossomed into a natural musical collaboration. The group then became a band and moved to LA, living together and creating the tunes that have now garnered followers all around the world from the US to Australia. The close and long-standing relationship of the bandmates certainly comes through in their music and instinctive performance ability.

With nearly 510k monthly listeners, previous songs such as “Simmer” (15.7 million streams) and “Reason” (9.3 million streams) have demonstrated that Hablot Brown is on a steady track upwards. Their newest project, Hablot Brown, combines R&B, pop, and indie sensibilities with some low-fi hip-hop and funk influences. The songs are moody and mesmerizing, with smooth vocals and groovy harmonies. With appearances from featured artists Floyd Fuji and Leven Kali, the tunes feel like sitting in on a late-night jam session or driving aimlessly through west coast beach roads. Each member of the group brings their own special something to the band, making this latest album truly feel like a polished and comprehensive work. Songs such as “Wait For Me” present a romantic dreaminess while others such as “The Act” are particularly personal, with an inviting tenderness and echoing vocals, while “Outro” contains contemporary sounds and vibrations to close out the 12 tracks.

The songs tackle themes related to the challenging and ever-changing nature of relationships and coming-of-age. The trio brings a certain youthfulness and retro spunk while still allowing room for a deep and confident vulnerability in other areas of the album. Hablot Brown places significant emphasis on the live performance aspect of their craft, drawing on the energy they create during shows and aiming to cultivate a certain electric vibe through their performances. The group is following the release of their album by headlining a tour across the US and Canada with support from Floyd Fuji.

Read below as members Linus Hablot and John Sterling Brown talk about taking leaps of faith, the appreciation and incorporation of multiple musical genres, and obtaining a deeper place in the current R&B scene.

LUNA: Congratulations on your new album! It’s very good — you must be very happy to have it out in the world now.

LINUS HABLOT: Yeah! It took us about three years, but finally it’s here and it's beautiful. It's a really great step for us as a band, and music aside, it takes a lot to put out an album.

LUNA: Absolutely. So what makes Hablot Brown, Hablot Brown? How would you describe your music to those who may be unfamiliar with the group?

LINUS HABLOT: I would say that it's based in live music. We pride ourselves on that. In the beginning, we weren't necessarily making music in a band setting because we didn't have the facilities for it. Like, we didn't have the ability to set up drums in a live room or anything. But we've worked up to the point where we can now track and record and write as a band where we're all playing together. I think that's really important and something that's not super common these days.

JOHN BROWN: Live music is where we shine.

LUNA: That’s exciting, as you’re going on tour soon. What do you aim to convey through your music?

LINUS HABLOT: We want to create a very inviting, welcoming, warming space where we can be very emotional but also keep it light at the same time. In between pop that’s very listenable but also has depth if that’s what you’re looking for.

LUNA: So, you guys have been playing together as a group for quite a long time now. You met as teenagers at Berklee’s summer program.

JOHN BROWN: Yeah, it was very spontaneous. Austin came to me and was like, “There’s some kid named Linus playing beats in the common room — let’s go jam with him.”

LINUS HABLOT: Yeah, very adolescent vibe. I grew up in Singapore and after that summer I went back, and Austin posted a song on SoundCloud. Not knowing musicians etiquette at the time, I downloaded the song and sang over it and sent it back to him. He was like, “Dope!” I moved to New York after that and lived with them in Massachusetts for a little. They didn’t wanna stay in college and I didn’t wanna go to college, so we made the band and moved to LA.

LUNA: Wow — it’s a good thing you made that leap of faith because it’s turned out pretty well. How have you all grown and developed throughout the years?

JOHN BROWN: Throughout the cycle of this album, we’ve all gone off individually in the best way possible. It’s allowed us to grow as producers and musicians and help with our next project.

LINUS HABLOT: A lot of individual research is continuing to be done. We lived here together at the start — it was like this bubble of us musically and creatively, and it was important for us to each understand what we can offer. We all push ourselves to invest in ourselves. So now when we have sessions it’s interesting and fresh and there’s outside influences.

JOHN BROWN: Talking about new skills — Linus is becoming an incredible piano player.

LUNA: I can see how that’s essential. Tell me about this album! What was the process behind its creation, and how is it different from your earlier EPs?

LINUS HABLOT: We toured, like, three or four times before we did this album. We got to see firsthand what the reaction was to our music live. It gave us an opportunity to say, “What reaction do we want? How do we want our audience to feel and respond?” We were making very introspective music, and we wanted them to dance more and be more engaged. So with this new album we are able to provide the beautiful live show we wanted.

LUNA: That’s a very interesting angle to take. So this album is over a three year period, I’m sure there’s been many big events, and it’s kind of a chronicle of that time. What was the songwriting process behind this album?

LINUS HABLOT: Absolutely, I think that goes for all of us. It’s sort of a collection of us. I enjoy writing like a sneeze. In the sense of life building up and getting to the point where I can’t just sit here; I need to let this idea out and make a song. I’m at a point now where I’ll write when I have something I need to say. Sometimes it is fun to just cook up a song out of nowhere, but I feel that the most impactful, emotional stuff sort of just… appears. It’s fun. A little scary, but fun.

JOHN BROWN: Inspiration wise, we listen to everything. We pride ourselves on not just sticking to one genre. We draw inspiration from what we believe is cool. A good song is a good song no matter the genre.

LINUS HABLOT: Yeah, you don’t wanna box yourself in. Good music is a combination of timing, skill, and heart.

LUNA: Tell me a bit about your song “Wait For Me.”

JOHN BROWN: It was a new approach for us. It was the first time we've recorded a full take live.

LINUS HABLOT: That song is such a coming-of-age, figuring out who you are as a person, especially when having a partner. Like with the lyrics “I could be that man that you need all day / But who am I when I go home?” [It’s] a real feeling that was being felt about losing yourself in a relationship.

LUNA: Yeah, so it’s very personal, I’m sure a lot of people can resonate with that as well. You’re going on tour across the US and Canada soon, you must be excited!

LINUS HABLOT: It’s awesome! We have one of our best friends and collaborators — who's all over the album — Floyd Fuji opening up for us on all the dates on the tour. And he's one of my best friends too. This will be, like, our fifth tour so our knowledge is much more cohesive.

LUNA: I’m sure. You talked about exploring other music genres and avenues. Do you think you’ll incorporate this knowledge into your music?

JOHN BROWN: Well, you know, people say we’re alternative/R&B, but we don’t like the idea of just sticking to that one job. We want to dip our toes into house music or whatever we all enjoy.

LINUS HABLOT: We'd like to create a brand which is inclusive of whatever we want to put out. The 1975, for example. They can drop whatever they want and people will love it because they’ve created this trust with their fans and reputation for high quality music.

LUNA: Taking it into some new directions, I like that. Where do you envision yourselves in the future? In terms of upcoming projects, what's next for Hablot Brown?

LINUS HABLOT: We would like to be a much deeper part of music coming out today. With all this research and development happening related to other music genres, all these new experiences, each album is different and new. My dream right now is to have nothing stopping us. Right now and in the distant future I want nothing in the way of us continuing to do music.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫