Brendan James – Photo Credit: Curry Ernst
Acclaimed singer-songwriter and pianist Brendan James is set to release his full length album, Leap Taken, in the fall. Following a successful North American tour in 2019, James originally planned to release his new material in March of this year, but ended up rethinking his release plan as the world adjusted to life during a global pandemic.
In 2018, James took a hiatus from touring, sold his house, and hit the road for a once in a lifetime, around the world trip with his wife and preschool-aged children, bringing the family closer together and inspiring a new batch of songs.
James and his family began their globe-spanning trip in Holland and traveled to England, France, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Iceland, Rwanda, Thailand, and New Zealand, staying in each country a minimum of fifteen days. They avoided tourist attractions, sought out local playgrounds and shopped at grocery stores to cook family meals together. The best part of the trip for the songwriter was going to sleep and waking up as a family every day for six months.
“That trip around the world was fuel for my soul,” says James. “I did nothing but hang with my family and write new songs. It was incredible.” James wrote the majority of the material for Leap Taken on his laptop , save for two new songs that were written in quarantine.
Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of “Day By Day,” one of those two songs written post-trip and during quarantine.
The engaging and perceptive track is of this current moment in time where we’re all hanging on and wondering what tomorrow will bring. James’ view is to de-stress and stay in the zone by taking life day by day, so as not to be overwhelmed by it all.
On “Day By Day” James sings in a calm and clarion tone against softly pressed piano notes, gentle, but radiant acoustic guitar strum, a relaxed drum beat, and lightly shaken percussion. His warm tone emanates on the verses and then flies upwards in a wistfully keening lilt on the chorus sections.
James goes into the meaning of the song, explaining, “The melody of this song came to me years ago, but the lyrics I didn’t finish until all this shit hit the fan in 2020. It’s about labeling, embracing, and being proud of your own struggle… knowing that the only way you’re gonna accomplish anything is with small steps and focused persistence.”
