Braille Mute Swan

"After releasing a string of driving, dancefloor-oriented singles on European labels Rush Hour and Hotflush, Brooklyn’s own Praveen Sharma aka Braille keys up his debut LP, Mute Swan, on Friends of Friends. With an ear for sentimental melodies and an unprecedented step into the vocal arena, Braille’s first full-length is rife with narrative appeal and rich songwriting, collapsing dozens of genre signifiers into a cauldron of pathos. Sharma’s own vocal experiments are aided by Jessie Boykins III on “I Assume” and Angelica Bess on “Ports” and “Better Than Nothing”, as well as additional production from Throwing Snow and Seafloor, a symphony of voices feeding into the cohesive vision he has established, one as much influenced by internal struggle as it is by his current environ in Brooklyn. The Seafloor-assisted “The Cat’s Gone Nuts” epitomizes the aforementioned spirit, drawing on classic soul as well as hip hop, R&B and UK garage. Cerebrally affecting, Braille’s compositions take the listener on a walk through the artist’s past and present, a collage of emotions ranging from melancholic joy to the deepest of sorrows. All in all, it’s a pleasure to bring Braille into the Friends of Friends family, a fit that looks just as good on paper as it is in reality!"