Horace Bray Shares New EP 'Fame, Fortune and Perfume'

LA-based pop artist Horace Bray has officially released his new EP Fame, Fortune, and Perfume. Self-produced and self-assured, the new EP is a stunning five-song collection that guides listeners through Bray's post-grad travels from New York City to L.A. and all the tumult and heartbreak in between. Fans can stream Fame, Fortune, and Perfume now below.

On Fame, Fortune, and Perfume, Bray shares, "For this project I really wanted to balance the intellectual side of music making with the side that is just meant to make you dance. I strive to make music to relax to and music to mourn to- my favorite parts of life are about balance and I want my music to reflect that theme. This EP represents a blending of all of my influences, both musical and emotional. I feel like it represents my human nature in a very honest way."

Prior to today's release, Bray has previously shared singles "Let Go," "Get It Right," "Close to Calm," and "Waiting For You," which have been featured by sites such as NPR, Earmilk, The Alternative, and more.

Horace Bray's mindset -- steadfast and emotionally open -- is rooted in "Waiting For You," an ode to his first real relationship. "Fell in love for the first time, 21 state of mind," sings Bray over nocturnal Miami Vice-style guitar grooves. But by track's end, patience for that same sort of connection triumphs over all distractions. All that poise comes in handy on "Let Go," a skying, U2-inspired vista dedicated to making sense of those big city parties. And especially handy on "Get It Right," a funky, lava lamp of a pop song about dating life gone surreal.

"Close to Calm" takes Bray's journey in a more sobering direction. Produced alongside Dua Lipa collaborator Juan Ariza during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the slow jam finds Bray excavating some of his oldest, deepest fears. "We almost canceled the session because we were feeling so anxious and stressed," Bray remembers. "We were talking about physical anxiety, what those symptoms feel like, and the games you have to play with your own head." On "Close to Calm," Bray found comfort deep beneath the panic, singing about the soothing piano songs his mother would play him as a child. He caps the track with a silky-smooth solo -- a reminder that despite his new pop sensibility, he hasn't forgotten the guitar wizardry of his past.

In studying jazz performance and music theory at the University of North Texas, 29-year old Bray became the first undergraduate in 15 years to hold the guitar chair in the Grammy-nominated One O'Clock Lab Band. Since moving to Los Angeles, the guitarist-producer has amassed over 120 thousand Instagram followers for his amicable guitar tutorials and genre-hopping instrumental covers including his spellbinding take on Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." He's played for celebrities like Sofia Carson and Jordan Fisher. All that makes for quite the résumé, but doesn't even reveal the most exciting part: Horace Bray is blossoming into a singer-songwriter to be reckoned with.

"Fame, Fortune, and Perfume is me putting a stamp on what I can do when left to my own devices," the Horace Bray attests. The brand new EP sounds like the missing link between Tame Impala's sun-kissed grooves and John Mayer's lush Stratocaster heroics. "Lately I've been thinking a lot about how things are framed visually -- how things lead into one another," he says.

Fame, Fortune, and Perfume plays out like a series of snapshots through Horace Bray's life, navigating relationships, desires, and fears -- a constant search for what's real. The kaleidoscopic title track comes from Bray's first taste of running with the starstruck L.A. crowd. "There's a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of money being thrown around," he says. "You're talking to people that always have their foot in the door just in case something better comes around. There's some real homies out here, but then you meet people that make you understand why people think L.A. is superficial."

Beyond Fame, Fortune, and Perfume, expect more innovation, collaborations, and collections of songs. Instead of locking himself away in the studio like so many virtuosos before him, Horace Bray remains constantly accessible: through his quirky TikTok and Instagram covers, livestreams of his originals, and the guitar tutorials that keep him on the pulse of how kids relate to his craft. Fame, Fortune, and Perfume stands as Horace Bray's introduction to a new world of possibilities.

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