Having picked up his first instrument at the age of 2, Spencer Brown already has 20 years of music experimentation under his belt. Now just turning 24, Anjunabeats’ youngest star presents his debut mix LP, ‘Illusion Of Perfection’.
Spencer Brown – Illusion of Perfection Cover Art
A graduate of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the prestigious Duke University, Spencer’s career has already seen some incredible highlights. His debut release ‘Chalice’, supported heavily by Above & Beyond, was released on Avicii’s LE7ELS imprint; his debut live performance saw him step behind the decks at The Hollywood Bowl. Tastemaker support from the likes of Pete Tong, Armin van Buuren and Axwell soon followed.
Spencer’s passion for crafting DJ sets and creating tracks solely to join the dots between dance floor moments highlights his mature head on young shoulders, a gifted artist taking on the music world on his terms. ‘Illusion Of Perfection’ is the evolution of this idea, a 12 track compilation with his forward thinking sound stamped across the mix.
Spencer Brown via reddit – “Thank you all for the support!!!! Can't believe the day has come!!!! 🙂 To stress the original concept of the album, it is MEANT to be listened to as a mix (hence ‘mixablum'). It's a steady flow, which is why we didn't do any singles before it dropped. Think of it as a polished, mixed ‘single body of work' with one distinct sound rather than a collection of ‘singles.' So set aside an hour while you are working, traveling, exercising, biking, walking, cleaning… whatever the case may be, and enjoy! Much love to you all and I would love to hear where you are listening from :)”
The lush sounds of the ‘The Gardens’ kick off this LP, before the slow burning grooves of ‘I’ll Never’, debuted by Above & Beyond during their ABGT250 warm-up set live from The Gorge. Having performed for the Pope, Roderick Demmings Jr. provides a classy jazz piano interlude on ‘Airplane Tekno’, before a change of groove with the dark ‘Arps n Crafts’ and ‘Will I Ever Find Love’, Spencer’s most poignant melodic production to date. You can feel the twinkling streetlights in ‘Nightwalk’, inspired by late night jaunts around his hometown, San Francisco.
‘J2’ once again moves the mix up a notch, full of Spencer’s trademark free flowing arps. Featuring long time college friend Liam Hathaway, ‘Audio’ takes its name from Spencer’s home club, a shuffling pop-edged progressive record. ‘waves.wav’ invited Wilt Claybourne and Jules into the mix for a frantic ride of full on euphoria on what could be the most sought after ID of Brown's of all his unreleased tunes.
Finding more inspiration in landmarks of his hometown, ‘Hippie Hill’ and ‘Bill Graham’ have a distinctly San Fran flavour. Rolling grooves of ‘Hippie Hill’ reflect the pounding feet of the Bay-to-Breakers race Spencer wandered through the day before composing the song, while ‘Bill Graham’ is another show inspired song, this time his debut at one of the cities legendary music halls.
Closing out the mix, ‘No Going Back’ feels like a timeless Anjunabeats anthem in the making, pairing Spencer with one of the labels most renowned talents ALPHA 9 a.k.a Arty.
Spencer’s Illusion Of Perfection tour includes multiple tour and festival dates worldwide, including EDC in Las Vegas, Electric Zoo in New York, and supporting Above & Beyond in the U.K. and further in the spring of 2018. Solo headline shows see Spencer showcase his curation skills, with either extended or open to close sets across the run.
Spencer Brown Tour Dates
MAY 4 – SOUNDCHECK – WASHINGTON
MAY 5 – REV – MINNEAPOLIS
MAY 11 – CELEBRITIES – VANCOUVER
MAY 12 – ORA – SEATTLE
MAY 18 – 45 EAST – PORTLAND
MAY 19 – EDC – LAS VEGAS
MAY 26 – STEELYARD – LONDON
MAY 26 – BRIXTON ACADEMY – LONDON
JUNE 1 – GRASSHOPPER – DETROIT
JUNE 2 – RYSE – ST LOUIS
JUNE 22 – SOUNDBAR – CHICAGO
JUNE 23 – DREAMS FESTIVAL – TORONTO
JULY 6 – KINGDOM – AUSTIN
JULY 13 – LIZARD LOUNGE – DALLAS
JULY 20 – TOMORROWLAND – BELGIUM
AUGUST 3 – SQL – MIAMI
AUGUST 4 – GRAVITY – HOUSTON
AUGUST 10 – ILE SONIQ – MONTREAL
AUGUST 25 – CREAMFIELDS – UK
AUGUST 31 – THE CHURCH – DENVER
SEPTEMBER 2 – ELECTRIC ZOO – NEW YORK
