BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
Brydon Brett has been making music all his life as part of a family show in Branson. But a new project has him collaborating with college friend Aaron Ellsworth to create a genre they call “SpectraPop.” Brett answered some questions for the duo about their new album, “The Preface.”
Q. So Prince Ivan is a new project separate from the Brett family group? When and how did this come about? And who besides you is involved in it?
A. Prince Ivan is a separate project from “The Brett Show” in Branson, but initially Prince Ivan began with me, my brother Garon Brett and one of my college buddies, Aaron Ellsworth. All three of us started the group professionally at the end of 2013 and continued making music as a trio for four years. In January 2018, Garon decided to focus on his solo career and finishing his college degree, so Prince Ivan officially became a duo at that point. It has taken us almost two years to figure out how to be a duo, but with the release of our album in December 2019, I think we’ve really finally come into our own and it’s working really well.
Q. What kind of music are you writing/performing?
A. We call our musical output “SpectraPop.” It’s a fusion of styles featuring pop, R&B, soul, EDM, hip hop, gospel and other flavors. What’s different about our music is the musical approach, yes, but also our approach to the lyrical and thematic content. We feel really passionate about creating music that EVERYONE can enjoy. We don’t want parents having to cover up their kids’ ears when they listen to our songs. We are trying to create mainstream Top 40-style music that is clean but not cheesy. That’s not easy to do, but I think we’re really starting to hit the target with this new album.
Q. How did the film come into the picture? Tell me all about that? And when will it be aired?
A. One of the songs from our album, “Let Her Be Beautiful,” has been placed in a film called “The Never List.” We submitted our music to www.musicsupervisor.com, and the CEO of the company, Barry Coffing, loved it. He was supervising the music for the film and just knew he had to include the song. We are so honored. The movie is being toured to festivals right now and will eventually be sold to Netflix, Amazon, HBO or some kind of company like that.
Q. When did the Bretts start making music together? And how long have you played in Branson?
A. We’re in our 21st season in Branson now. We started making music together long before that in Dallas, though. My dad was a chiropractor in Texas, and he somehow got us playing all of the major venues in the Dallas area. Then the opportunity to come to Branson opened up, and we decided to take it. Looking back, I’m so grateful for how our experiences in Branson have prepared us for the new opportunities that are coming our way with Prince Ivan. It has been an amazing life.
Q. And how are y’all getting by during all the coronavirus fears?
A. We recognize how difficult this has been for so many people. Our prayers have been going out to everyone affected negatively by this. For us, it’s given us the chance to spend more time with our wives and families and get off the road a bit. We’ve been blessed with studio work for other record labels, and we just finished up a music video for our next single. We’ll be releasing a lot of new music and touring this year, so we’re taking the chance to get caught up and then hopefully get ahead on a lot of projects. We’ve also made some random TikTok videos. So, there’s that, too.
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Prince Ivan
www.princeivan.com
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