BRELAND went to Selma to find himself. His ‘Project 2024’ is music based on what he saw and felt

The past few years have been a whirlwind for BRELAND.

He released his debut album ‘Cross Country’ in 2022, a fluid approach to country music that now feels prescient – it’s the direction the genre continues to move. He toured endlessly, won awards and collaborated with the biggest names in country. He also realized that he needed to slow down, live a little, and do some research to determine what would come next.

So he headed to Selma, Alabama – once home to his great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother – to recharge, something his mother did the year before. The journey would eventually lead to a new EP, provocatively titled ‘Project 2024’.

“You think of Selma as this city that, you know, is a vibrant symbol of hope and freedom and the resilience of the American people and the African American community. But unfortunately it is a city that has been largely forgotten by most of us,” he says. Repairs from last year’s tornado have still not been completed. Storefronts from the 1960s stood empty.

“It’s literally a food desert. …The nearest hospital is 48 km away. So I went there and saw, ‘Wow, this is a community that I expected to go in a certain direction but was actually completely different’ and realized that, you know, I’m one or two decisions away from fact that I grew up in this community. community,” says BRELAND. “And in many ways, historically, these are at least my people.” It was an eye-opening experience, one that made him realize he needed to create work that drew attention to Selma — and write songs that told real stories.

Those exist throughout “Project 2024,” but perhaps not as directly as his collaboration with The War & Treaty, “Same Work,” the most “straight in the middle, country” song on the EP, as he describes it .

In the text BRELAND tells an experience he had during a meet & greet. A fan told the country star his story: He is a veteran, now retired and working as a nurse, providing free healthcare to other veterans in need.

“He says, ‘You and I do the same job.’ And I thought, ‘We’re definitely not doing that. What you do is tangible, you help people in need.’ He said, ‘That’s what you do.’ He says: ‘We do the same work. We do it in different ways. God’s purpose for us is different, but if the core of what you do is wanting to help people, motivate people, encourage people and show love? Then we do absolutely the same work,” he says again.

The story struck a chord. It’s the emotional heart of the six-track release, arriving at the end as a reminder of people’s potential for good.

So, what about that title, ‘Project 2024’? BRELAND says it has nothing to do with Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page blueprint for a hard right turn in American government and society and a frequent topic of conversation in the run-up to the presidential election. .

“Having visited Selma and seeing those people’s experiences, I think there are many freedoms that we cannot take for granted. And for me, I choose to express that through the music. So it is more of a creative agenda than a political agenda,” he explains.

“In the most literal sense, this is the only project I’m releasing in 2024. You can engage with it at that level,” he says. “It’s definitely a bit controversial, the title. But you know, maybe that’ll get people to click on it. Maybe not.”

He urges listeners not to read any political message into it.

“I don’t think the songs in this project are political at all. But I do think that my experience in this space as a very vocal young black man, who has never shied away from having difficult conversations in the past, is in some ways political. But I always want the music to be as accessible as possible.”

And he’s accomplished that by continuing the mix of country music genres he introduced on “Cross Country.” “Motion” weaves Afrobeats. “Icing” introduces Southern gospel.

‘Project 2024’ may not be political, but it crosses boundaries and finds human connection every step of the way.