Steven Brown - live at BRASS

Don't miss Steven Brown live at BRASS in Brussels on June 2, the only Belgian stop on his 19-date European tour!

Co-founder of the legendary Tuxedomoon, Brown brings his stunning new album In This Very World (Crammed Discs/[PIAS]) to the stage, accompanied by Luc van Lieshout (Tuxedomoon) and Lucien Fraipont (Duid, Aksak Maboul) on guitar and bass.

Following his 2022 song cycle El Hombre Invisible, Steven Brown wanted to push into new territory. Drawing once again from his literary, cinematic and political obsessions — and from his life in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he has been based for many years, the charismatic singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist has crafted a mysterious and deeply inviting world.

The result is an album that moves seamlessly between songs anchored by Brown's inimitable vocal presence and evocative, stripped-down instrumental pieces built around horns and piano. Among the vocal tracks: a paean to the night sky, the true story of women banding together to drive gangsters out of a small Mexican town, and a remarkable cover of a David Bowie song. On the instrumental side, a tender reading of Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2 (1955), and a closing live piece, Nella Terra, captured during the 2022 Hombre Invisible tour — a testament to the raw intensity of Brown's live trio.

Recorded between Oaxaca and Brussels, the album brings together Luc van Lieshout (Tuxedomoon) on brass, Benjamin Glibert (Aquaserge) on guitar and upright bass, Mexican singer Sarmen Almond, and rising Guatemalan cellist Mabe Fratti, alongside members of Brown's Cinema Domingo Orchestra.

The experiences accumulated during the hiatus, as well as recent events such as the pandemic and the surge of activism related to climate change and to the Black Lives Matters movement have influenced the creation of the new album.