Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Brian Walker

Pop Artist Brian Walker was born and raised on a farm in the small town of East Kingston, New Hampshire. He turned his childhood bedroom into a recording studio, where he writes, produces and mixes his pop songs. Walker’s music has been featured on Spotify playlists such as “New Music Friday: Indonesia”, “Fresh Finds”, “Fresh Finds: Pop” and broadcasted on 92.5 The River Independent Radio. He has played over 750 shows across New England, performing at the Berklee Performance Center, Mohegan Sun, and many other venues. Walker’s music has accumulated over 650,000 streams on Spotify, with his single “Lookin’ Like My Wife” which he wrote, produced and mixed, up to over 230,000 Spotify streams as of 1/6/25.

In March of 2024, Walker dropped the second track off of his upcoming debut LP, a follow up to “When I Start To Care”, called “Dear Jane”, which Iggy Magazine called an “Ode to Melancholy”. Walker than dropped track 3 off the album on 5.24.24, an edgy, funky tune called “Before the Roof Caves in” which features a music video where Walker is chased by “Wolf Girl” and her hypnotized henchmen. Blogger “EXTRAVAFRENCH” referred to this song as “An Ode To Determination”. Walker’s latest single “IMMA GET MINE” drops on 1.24.25, and features an inspirational music video about a runner who gets pushed and loses a race, and then trains to beat him.

What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I remember in elementary school I played Jaq the mouse in Cinderella the musical. I also used to play piano by ear and pick out notes of pop songs on the piano. We had this time set aside in music class where the teacher allowed us to perform, and I would play these little piano pieces for the students. I saw Shrek I and heard “I’m a Believer” and that was one of the songs I played on the piano by ear. I distinctively remember learning that one, but I don’t really remember any others!

How did your passion for creating music begin?
I didn’t really start taking voice lessons until I was like 19 and started writing original songs maybe a couple years after that. I was mostly playing covers for my first two years of college. It all really started on the piano. I started playing piano when I was 5 years old. I took like 1 year of lessons, but was mainly self-taught using youtube tutorials to learn pieces. I used to try to learn the most complicated piano pieces I could find, like Beethoven’s 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata, or Turkish March by Mozart, or Flight of the Bumblebee. I always liked the super fast, complicated pieces, and wanted to learn the hardest ones I could find. That sort of evolved into improvising with the blue scale on the piano, which I guess would be my first experience with making music up. I started composing pure instrumental piano pieces as well. I didn’t start really writing music and lyrics until my first college, the University of New Hampshire. It was sort of like just me getting out my feelings and emotions on paper back then, without a ton of craft and thought in it. I later attended Berklee College of Music, and started getting more into the craft of pop songwriting, production and mixing, and trying to make my music sound more Top 40. 

What’s the story behind your current music project?
My latest release “I Like This Me Better,” is the 6th song off of my debut 12-song LP “PASSIO”. The music video for it is the sequel to “When I Start to Care,” another song off the album. My music videos are often fun exaggerations of the songs, and have sort of an independent storyline. In “I Like This Me Better”, the female protagonist starts to get unhinged, and begins stalking me and my new girlfriend  with binoculars, and wearing comedic disguises, like a fake mustache. It’s sort of a satirical farce, comedically exaggerating the reality presented in the song lyrics. The end of the video was actually an exact flip of the end of “When I Start to Care,” and the tone changes as well and becomes more dramatic. We shot this a year after the “When I Start to Care” music video, and I tried to create the exact opposite ending scene-for-scene, where at the end of the video I’ve moved on and have a lipstick stain on my cheek – the exact opposite of the “When I Start to Care” music video ending, where the female protagonist has a lipstick stain on her cheek. My latest single “What I Miss Most,” the 7th release off of the album, also complete with a full music video and story of its own, is set to drop November 28th, 2025. There are 5 more songs off of the album in various stages of development, all scheduled to drop in 2026. I have two EPs out as well, but those were sort of just a collection of singles and were a bit random. I grouped them together after they were already released, without ever thinking they would be part of a collection of works prior to their release. In contrast, this LP is super personal to me because it was always designed to be a full album from the beginning. PASSIO is Latin for “passion” which means suffering. That’s the thread that ties this album together – it’s all about suffering for the people and things you care about. I didn’t really know if it was going to be a love or breakup album when I started it, because I was writing the songs off of my real life experiences. I just had that title “PASSIO” from the beginning, because I knew there was a lot of passion with my emotions not just with my relationships, but also with my journey as a human and as a musician. As my personal relationships evolved, the album ended up revealing itself primarily as the journey into a relationship, and eventually into a rather toxic breakup and goodbye. The album chronicles my life experiences as a struggling musician and human. At the time I decided to write this album, I was in sort of a tumultuous breakup, which ended up becoming a big part of the album.

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music
before?
I’ve written a ton of songs, and through doing that discovered my own unique spin on pop music. My only rule with my music is that I want to be able to write and make whatever I’m most passionate about in the moment, whether it’s breakup songs, or sexy songs, or edgy stuff, etc. I don’t want to be “the sad guy” or “the breakup song guy” – I want my musical identity to be malleable enough to allow my music to change as I change and grow as a human. For the most part, I tend to say the cold, hard truth in my lyrics and many of my songs end up being on the edgier side, which can at times leave audiences divided. I’ve sort of learned to embrace that edginess that makes my brand unique. I’ve been told by a lot of people I’m a pretty resilient guy, and I think that shows up in many of my songs. The angle I come at for most topics tends to be from the stand point of a “never quit”, resilient mindset. But then I have a song like “Lookin’ Like My Wife” which is a fun, flirty trap song and is by far my most streamed song on Spotify to date. I wrote that song specifically because my tendency is to write grittier, edgier, heavier stuff, and I wanted to have a fun flirty song, and I like to have the freedom to be able to do something like that. I usually have some punchy beats going in most of my songs, and have been told my music is pretty catchy. So far I haven’t really written many ballads or songs without drums. My goal when you hear my catalog of songs, is that you know all the different sides of my unique personality, and when I pass on some day, my soul and experience on this planet was sort of captured and printed onto my library of songs. It really is my diary set to music, and writing is my therapy.

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I’m big on song title and concept. I usually have the title to the song before I have anything else, and I know if I have a great concept that really speaks to my soul, I’ll release that song eventually, even if it needs multiple rewrites and iterations to materialize it. Another big thing for me is the chorus. If i have a great chorus, I can always work backwards and hash out the rest of the song. But if I have a great verse and no chorus, then that idea will probably disappear into the void. The chorus is so important. 

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Pro Tools, Analog Lab, Spitfire Strings, my Alessis 88 key MIDI keyboard.. I’m always plucking out melody and harmony ideas on my Yamaha P-225 – I’m a big piano guy. I’ve also got my Taylor 414ce which I played in my upcoming single “What I Miss Most”, and my AT4050 condenser mic that I record all my vocals on. I used to have an Analog Juno 60 hardware synth (the real thing, not a plugin!), but I sold it 🙁 I would love to have a crazy studio some day with mellotrons and drum machines and vintage synths, but I’m making do with the software versions for now, which actually do sound pretty great. Arturia makes some great software versions of the vintage machines.

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Hmmmm.. I don’t listen to a ton of indie music to be honest! But I’m open to recommendations!! DM me on Instagram @ BrianWalkerMusic what I should listen to! I listen to SOO much pop music from all decades. Really into the Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse, Keane and John Mayer right now – lots of 2000s music. Sort of into anything that hits you in the feels right now. I also go to Starbucks every morning, and I listen to whatever’s on their playlist.. Gearing up for all the Christmas music now! I heard some jazzy piano Christmas cover at Starbucks the other day that I want to learn – getting more into jazz piano too

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I’ve just been grinding away playing like 130 shows per year, writing, producing and mixing all my own stuff, directing and hiring talent for my music videos, and doing all the color grading and editing myself, booking myself shows, running my website, doing social media, etc – probably what a lot of indie artists are doing.. It’s been a pretty difficult journey and there have been many challenges, and I say all this because I believe the struggle of this journey sort of shows up in my music. In my song “Before the Roof Caves in”, off the new album, I talk about how I’m trying to make these dreams come true before it’s too late – like if some catastrophic event happened and we had to sell our house and I had to sell all my music gear or something, then maybe this dream wouldn’t be a possibility. So that song was sort of written from the experience of having all this relentless string of bills and expenses that I’m trying to keep up with, and feeling like I’m sort of close to the edge, and one horrible accident or catastrophe could upend everything I’ve been working for. Then I have a song like “IMMA GET MINE” which is super gritty and I think is a good example of a song that represents my resiliency and determination in the face of adversity. I wrote the song to sort of convince myself that I am actually going to achieve my goals, and it’s not some big pipe dream, and to stand up for myself in the face of adversity. A lot of my songs, especially for PASSIO, came from a place of pain or frustration, whether from the toxic relationship, or just the grind of being an independent musician wearing all these hats, and struggling to gain traction. 

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I think PASSIO is all about grit and resiliency, and going after the things and the people you’re passionate about with everything you’ve got. But I’m also constantly evolving as a human being and an artist, and I have dozens of song ideas and concepts for the next album, which is likely to take a sunnier tone, primarily because I’ve been living with PASSIO for 4 years and I’m going to need some more fun/brighter stuff. I hope my listeners will evolve with me, as I evolve and my music evolves.

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Hard work pays off, stay patient, and don’t take shortcuts. All of the greatest things I’ve achieved so far, have felt quite tedious and mundane in the moment, but then have revealed exciting results, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. So I sort of embrace the process more these days, knowing that if I showed up and got something done, I’m on the path to eventually becoming the butterfly.

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
All the award shows (Grammys/VMAs/AMAs/iHeart Radio awards, etc.), Jingle Ball.. those were always the big ones for me. I remembered watching those shows on TV as a kid and seeing all these stars with incredible talent performing all on the same stage, and just being in awe of the talent and in some cases the outfits, costumes, set design, dancing, etc. It’s just an incredible spectacle and amazing to hear the biggest stars and songs all there in the same room doing the thing they love. I’d also love to perform at TD Garden some day where I saw many Celtics games as a kid, Gillette Stadium, and Madison Square Garden. I’ve seen many concerts at the TD Garden and Gillette too, and would love to perform on those stages some day. It’s amazing when you look out into the audience and everyone has their phone lights out, and it looks like a sea of fireflies. Sort of gives me the same feeling that you get when you look at a large mountain, or the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Good question. So many – there’s so many talented artists out there and collaborating can be so fun. The big thing for me is I would just want it to be an inspired collaboration – like really trying to make something great, combining the things I do best with the things they do best. Pretty much all the artists on Top 40 radio today would be exciting to work with – I study tons of hit songs from past and present, and I like the idea of coming up with an artist’s next sound. I’m truly a fan of pop music, and would love to create the song that I would like today’s top artists to sing, and then singing on that song too myself would be like the cherry on top. I’d just like to explore sounds and ideas that the artist hasn’t ventured into yet. There’s a ton of writers and producers I would love to work with some day as well, like Max Martin, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, etc. I’d love to hear what my songs would sound like with a Serban Ghenea mix on them too! 

Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Follow Brian/Subscribe
Youtube ▸ http://www.youtube.com/c/BrianWalkerMusic?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify ▸ https://open.spotify.com/artist/19vvtr094M8GaBPGwBqCEW?si=_NRTyh3vS56aE20-HpvfMg&nd=1
Instagram ▸ https://www.instagram.com/BrianWalkerMusic
TikTok  ▸ https://www.tiktok.com/@brianwalkerwrites
Facebook ▸ https://www.facebook.com/BrianWalkerMusic
Sign up for Brian’s Newsletter ▸ https://BrianWalkerMusic.com
Soundcloud ▸ https://soundcloud.com/BrianWalkerMusic
Twitter ▸ https://twitter.com/bwalkofficial
Apple Music/iTunes ▸ https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brian-walker/1440100429

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical
journey?
I used to sort of chase numbers and accolades and stuff like that, but it’s so out of my control, that I sort of just try to focus on those things I can control now, and let all of those things be a pleasant surprise. Wrapping up the PASSIO album will be huge for me, because it’s my first LP, and 12 songs that I’m super proud of with 10 full music videos – it’s a full visual and sonic experience where I put all my creativity into this project, and I’m so excited to have the physical disk in my hand some day to be able to sell at shows and present to the world as a collection of my best work. I’m also just superrrr excited to get started on the second LP. I wrote many of the PASSIO songs a year or two ago and I’m in a different emotional state in life today, and I’m just super excited to write about my new experiences, and challenge myself with new topics. I’ve just written a ton of breakup songs with this album, and I’m so excited to showcase other sides of my personality in my music. 

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I’m truly doing this because I’m passionate about the music itself, and I hope that listeners will hear that passion when they listen to my songs. I hope that they will see my joy in what I’m doing, and it will inspire them to pursue the things that they’re passionate about. I also hope that listeners will see that I’m not just one thing – I’m a constantly evolving human being just like they are, and trying to live a fulfilling, happy life, and writing about my journey along the way. 

If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the 
interview :)
“I Like This Me Better” (latest music video off the PASSIO album): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPa_rSFwq40

FINAL WORDS: Thank you for reaching out to me to do this interview! I enjoyed answering these questions, and appreciate you taking the time to read them! Connect with me on Instagram @ BrianWalkerMusic where I share my day-to-day life to see what I’m up to today! Have a wonderful day! 🙂