New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Brandon Jarod is a self-taught and multi-instrument playing hip hop artist from Virginia Beach.
Brandon writes and produces his own music. He started Nicobe records and released his debut in 2010. From his first release, "The Crush EP" to the latest single "Kiss Me," it is evident that
Brandon is hitting the icon status in the industry sooner rather than later. His other release came in 2013, "The Age of Zero EP."
Vocals
Brandon has over the years mastered his vocal range. He spends hours perfecting his vocals which have enabled him to traverse his artistic range with a lot of flexibility and ease. He adheres to his practice schedule followed by intervals of recovery and rest enabling him to perform at optimum levels irrespective of the pitch.
He has been able to create his unique voice that is not associated with anyone else in the industry. Brandon's vocals can only get better in the future as he expects to release more music.
Instruments and Performance
Brandon Jarod set himself along when starting his music and that has been his drive. His target has always been to be the best at what he does, and that is experiencing his music through instruments and performance.
Brandon says he rewards himself whenever he gets something when training with his instruments or rehearsing for a performance to help his brain automate the "habit loop."
When training
Brandon says that he doesn't always start his songs at the beginning as he aims at maximizing his willpower and time. He says it helps him in ensuring his performances starts and end well.
Writing and Arrangement
Brandon Jarod has over the years improved his music writing and arrangement skills and attributes it all to learning and listening. He has learned harmony by listening to various artists play, reading books on tonal counterpoint, and exercising various styles. Amazingly, he also takes his time to learn orchestration.
Brandon had to become an active listener by listening to tons of music from musicians he likes. He started by listening to music with just one instrument before moving on to those with two or three. Jarod started with what he had focusing on small pieces with simple themes. He did that every day working on his arrangement and the tremendous growth can now be reflected on his work.
Production
Being a self-taught producer,
Brandon Jarod has strived to improve the quality of his music. It hasn't been an easy walk but with dedication, practice, and experimenting with different beats.
Brandon listened to music that inspired his favorite musicians to understand their influences. He says it helped open his 'musical peripheral vision.' He took it upon himself to search new genres and music just to widen his knowledge.
Brandon has always focused practice sessions for just specific parts of his production. He spent a lot of time exploring different mixing techniques and EQ settings. His production has improved at a high rate because he was never stuck in repeating the same patterns in his production.
