Brijean

Oakland's Brijean fuse organic percussion, bass lines, and electronic production into a hallucinatory mix of AM pop, Latin jazz, disco, and dance music, evoking the spirit of Brazil's Marcos Valle alongside the playful energy of '90s house act Deee-Lite. Their 2018 debut Walkie Talkie generated immediate online attention, while the 2021 follow-up Feelings broadened the project's textural reach. After a challenging relocation from the Bay Area to New Mexico, the duo issued the contemplative 2022 EP Angelo. Macro, their 2024 full-length, arrived saturated in frothy French house, Tropicalia, and funk.

The project began in 2018 when Oakland, California-based percussionist and vocalist Brijean Murphy joined forces with bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Doug Stuart. Murphy, daughter of the respected percussionist and engineer Patrick Murphy, spent her Los Angeles childhood studying drums from an early age. As a versatile session and touring musician she has collaborated with Toro y Moi, Poolside, U.S. Girls, and numerous other indie acts. Stuart, raised near Chicago, pursued jazz studies at the University of Michigan before drawing influence from J Dilla and Moodymann to explore electronic music and hip-hop. After settling in the Oakland area he issued solo material as Dougie Stu and performed with the psych-soul group Bells Atlas. The pair connected through overlapping musical circles, establishing both a personal relationship and a creative alliance.

Their debut album Walkie Talkie framed Murphy's airy vocals with sinuous bass grooves, live percussion, and layered electronic production. On Feelings they continued stretching the boundaries of their Tropicalia-rooted palette. During this period the duo moved repeatedly, ultimately spending much of the COVID-19 pandemic in Santa Fe, New Mexico, while mourning the deaths of Murphy's father and both of Stuart's parents. From that stretch emerged Angelo, the reflective 2022 EP—issued on vinyl the following year—whose title honored their dependable 1981 Toyota Celica. Macro expanded the group's jazz-inflected, Latin-tinged foundation with buoyant '90s-style French house and funk excursions, spotlighting the dance-floor single "Workin' On It."