Bruno Major on Pursuing a Career in Music: 'There Was No Plan B'

Bruno Major wants you to know that, yes, he’s seen your tags about that Encanto song. 

When the Pixar movie first came out, “We Don't Talk About Bruno” became such a massive hit that it was inevitable that it would turn into memes and, of course, Major was on the receiving end of a lot of them.

“It's funny because I hadn't seen the film (at the time),” Major tells Esquire Philippines. “And then I'd just go on my Twitter and everyone was like, ‘We don't talk about Bruno!' I was like, What's going on? Have I been cancelled or something?”

But he watched the movie soon after and eventually got in on the joke. He even thinks he looks a bit like Bruno in the movie.

“Although I don't live in the shadow realm, behind the walls,” he jokes.

Photo by Karpos / Ber Garcia.

Major was back in Manila this August for a one-night-only show. Clearly his brand of jazz-R&B-soul-pop music resonates well with Filipinos as he sold out the New Frontier Theater. The thirtysomething musician admits he panicked for a bit when he landed in Manila at 2 a.m. and discovered that he had lost his voice, but herbal tea and plenty of prayers apparently worked and he was able to deliver a mesmerizing show in front of his adoring fans.

Major gamely sat down for a brief interview the afternoon before the show where he spoke about loving metal music as a kid, the pitfalls of putting too much of yourself out there, and whether there was a Plan B about pursuing a career in music. Excerpts:

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Esquire Philippines: I know you've talked a lot about growing up and how you got started in music. But what was the point where you figured out that music was something you were going to pursue full time?

Bruno Major: I started playing guitar when I was seven. And then I suppose when I was a teenager, like 13 or 14, you kind of start getting into your things, don't you, around then? And I got really into guitar and I just started playing a lot.

And then when I was like 16, I don't know, I went through a few things in my life and I just disappeared into (music). I started playing all day, every day. I really got into jazz and then I went and pursued a jazz degree. At that point I really just wanted to be a professional musician.

I thought maybe I'd end up being a college lecturer or a session musician, playing for other people.

But I started writing songs and it was really immediately apparent that that's what I was meant to be doing. The first time I wrote a song, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is it, this is what I'm meant to be doing.’

Photo by Karpos / Ber Garcia.

So there wasn't a plan B, where you wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or something like that?

No, I don't think you can have a plan B. Not when it comes to something like music. Because there's always somebody who doesn't have a plan B who's going to end up being the guy who gets to do all the things.

You also talked a lot about loving metal back when you were a kid. It’s kind of a big shift from that to what you're doing now, do you think? What happened there?

I don't think it's as big a shift as you think. I mean, I think there's a lot of similarities between metal and jazz. There's a crossover, especially if you look at bands like Meshuggah, Mastodon, some of my favorite metal bands. The musicianship is of the highest level.

It's also extremely groovy. It's interesting because I think you could say that heavy metal is a predominantly white form of music. And I think that there's an inherent lack of groove in white-based music forms. If you look at anything like country or swing jazz or even a lot of pop music, I don't know, there's groove within metal that is really inspiring to me.

And there’s also a lot of intense theory, like jazz scales, technique. So all of this stuff is very much relative to jazz, I think. But that's why I play a Les Paul. Originally I bought that because I was shredding. And then I just started playing jazz with it.

Talking about songwriting, I know your lyrics are very introspective and emotional. Do you ever worry about maybe putting too much of yourself out there? 

In what way?

Just being like, so vulnerable to people, maybe.

Yeah, I have thought about it. I feel like, especially with this last album, it's like a huge part of my soul went into it. And when I finished the album, I went into this period of mourning. It's because it's like you've lost a piece of yourself, and that's fine. But if you listen to a piece of Chopin recorded music, you can hear Chopin's soul. You can hear his feelings, and you can hear his character in his music. And that's a piece of his soul that he left behind in an art form. 

So I think that's maybe what it is to be an artist, is to cut pieces of yourself off. Like what's his face? Cut his ear off.

(Someone yells out Van Gogh)

Yes thank you!

Photo by Karpos / Dan Durante.

It's interesting you mentioned that you were mourning, so almost like something died. And it’s supposed to be like, when you finish an album, it's this creation. It's like a birth. Does that sound strange to you?

Yeah, it does. But like it's not a birth or a death. It's like a new phase. It's like a new beginning. It's like a moon phase. I think you mourn the passing of the old and celebrate the new.

So you've been doing this a while, performing in front of people, minus the pandemic years, of course. Do you still get nervous before you go up on stage?

I did, well, because I haven't performed for like three and a half years before this tour. So the first couple of shows were bad. The first show of the tour was Tokyo. And that day, I was a hopeless basket case. But it's a bit like riding a bike. You get back on it, and you're a bit wobbly, but you can still do it. It's what I'm meant to do. I've been training for this my whole life. And I love it. I love it.

I love performing, and I love that it's such a unique human experience to be standing on a stage and feeling the energy and love of that many people and validating the thing that you do that means the most to you in the whole world that I would do anyway, even if nobody cared. But to have that many people being like, yes, what you do is great, and we love it, it's a wonderful, wonderful thing. So I actually look forward to it now.

That's awesome. Speaking of performing on stage, have you had any embarrassing stage moments happen to you throughout your career?

Yeah, I've had a couple. (Takes a moment to think) Okay, I'll just go for the less gross one. Back in the day, I was in a metal band, actually, when I was a kid. And I was really, really ill. As in. And when I say ill, I mean hungover. (Grins) And I had to puke, but we were in the middle of the set. And at the time, I was playing a big Marshall stack amp. So I just went and puked behind the amp. And I carried on playing the show. Yeah, that's commitment to your craft.

But I feel like you can get away with that in a metal band, but I don't think I can really get away with that now.

Photo by Karpos / Dan Durante.

I was thinking, like, to end this interview, if you could do maybe a quick lightning round of some of your favorites.

Yeah, yeah, totally.

Do you have a favorite city in the world?

Manila. (Grins) I do love Manila. But…I'm going to have to go, in all seriousness, I'm going to have to go with London, because it's where I live, and I just love London so much. 

But close second place is Manila.

Do you have a favorite snack?

Salty popcorn. 

Favorite piece of clothing?

This jacket. (He’s wearing a black leather jacket) 

Do you have a favorite movie?

Blade Runner, the director's cut.

Favorite ice cream flavor?

Vanilla.

Favorite part of your house?

My bedroom.

Favorite app on your phone?

I just found out on the new iPhone, there's this thing called sound recognition. So get this, you can set your iPhone to constantly listen for certain sounds. These sounds include, like, running water. So if you're in, like, I don't know, let's just say you're lost, you're in a plane crash, and you land, and miraculously, somehow, your phone still has battery, which obviously will never happen, but you can set it to listen to running water, and then send you an alarm when it hears it, which is pretty cool. 

Photo by Karpos / Dan Durante.

Oh cool, It's like Shazam for, like, natural sounds.

Yeah, Shazam for sound. Yeah, it's mad. I mean, obviously, I'm never going to use it, but it's still cool to know that it works.

Do you have a favorite book?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

We were just talking about this. Do you have a favorite Disney or Pixar movie?

Hmm, that's a tough one, because there are so many great ones. I'd probably have to go with Toy Story, the original, because it's what got me into Randy Newman. For those of you who don't know who Randy Newman is, he's the one that goes, (sings) ‘You've got a friend in me.’ That guy. But, like, he's my number one hero inspiration. So, yeah, Toy Story. The original.

And then last, favorite album by another artist?

My favorite album ever?

Ever, yeah.

Wow. I will go for... That's such a hard question, I'm really sorry. Oh, okay, Pink Moon by Nick Drake, because it was the album that got me into, like, maybe just want to be a singer-songwriter. And when I first heard it, I had the mp3s on my computer, and I didn't know who Nick Drake was. And it's just a solo guitar album, and I tried to buy tickets to see him live, and then I found out he'd been dead since the 1970s. But, yeah, it's a beautiful album.