A new Kansas City alternative duo has been born, and you’ll surely want to stick around to watch it grow! Baby and the Brain is the brainchild of songwriters Jo Mackenzie and Dia Jane. The two musicians are officially kicking off their journey this month with their exciting debut album BrainBaby, but before diving in, here’s some things Jo and Dia want you to know!
HOW BABY AND THE BRAIN WAS FORMED
“We met four years ago at a local open mic but were never particularly close until we reconnected in September of 2020. We wanted to record a cover together, but then accidentally wrote a song…which turned into writing another song, and then a whole bunch more to the point where we decided the songs merited a dedicated project together.”
WHAT’S WITH THE NAME?
“‘The Baby’ was a character/concept that had appeared several times while songwriting and recording (long story), and when searching for the other half, ‘the Brain’ only felt natural. The album name (BrainBaby) was obviously based on the band name, but it also felt authentic in that all of these songs are very close and personal to us — the album truly feels like our brain child!”
THEIR FAVORITE SONGS SO FAR
“‘Sarah’ is one of our favorites and was a very last-minute addition to the album. Jo spent 3 weeks in New York over the summer, and when she came back we were sitting outside with a guitar–not really intending to write anything–when Jo said in passing that ‘kids born in 2000 are legal!’ Jo tends to write down interesting phrases she says or hears, and she jokingly asked me to write a song with that phrase in it. I sang the first two lines, and we ended up writing the rest of the song that same day and recording it just in time to add to the album. We couldn’t be happier about it!
“Another fun story is the one behind the second chorus of ‘Do You Want That?’ where the music cuts out to a take of Jo saying ‘I have ideas,’ and me responding ‘okay.’ We were planning on finishing the phrase by singing it the same way we did in the first chorus, but when we heard how that random take landed within the song, we loved how it sounded and ended up keeping it.”
WHO INSPIRES/MOTIVATES THEM?
“We’re both really inspired by other musicians (like our local friends The Greeting Committee, BLACKSTARKIDS, and Kevin Morby), and we have a lot of music within us that we want to see out in the world. We’re both very attached to our visions for songs, and it’s less a question of motivation for us and more of the resolve to see it through until it’s what we want it to be.”
ONE MORE THING…
Baby and the Brain spent almost a year putting BrainBaby together, and they love these songs with all their heart! Keeping it honest with one another and having integrity in their work has been one of the most important elements of their dynamic. The entire process helped their friendship grow even stronger, and they hope you’ll be able to feel all the joy they experienced along the way as you listen to the album.
Give BrainBaby a spin below, and say hi to Baby and the Brain on Instagram @babybrainband