Interviews

Brittany Davis: Here to Make a Difference

BY Lisa Machac PHOTOGRAPHS BY Lance Mercer

As a blind artist, Brittany Davis' music transcends traditional boundaries, weaving together a rich tapestry of genres and emotions in their debut solo album, Image Issues. From overcoming personal trauma to channeling divine inspiration, Brittany's honesty and fearlessness shines through, offering a deeply human and inspiring musical experience. Here, Brittany talks with Lisa Machac of Omni Sound Project about how they got started playing music, the technology they use to produce, as well as plans for the future.

You've said that everything talks to you or that everything makes music. How did that perception lead to you creating music?

Everything that I established about my surroundings was melodic, or instrumental, or sensory bending for me. I was sensitive to a lot of things, like I couldn't go in certain houses because the smells would create certain beats. I'm sensitive in that way.

Have you learned to use that to your advantage when writing music?

Yes, absolutely. I'm also learning to write colors into my music!

When you were really young, who taught you how to create loops?

It was my friend that taught me how to create loops. I've got a lot of blind friends in the community. One in particular stands out; they go by Jay Breeze. They're another blind producer/engineer. He's phenomenal. He taught me how to make loops and record on computers using accessible technology, and they got me into the game of sound-making goodness. I started making loops on my own when I was 16. But I didn't really start publishing and start figuring out real ways to mix it until I was about 21 or 22.

What's the technology that you're using to make the loops, and what's the accessibility technology that you're using on top of that?

I'm using [Apple] Logic Pro and Native Instruments MASCHINE MK3. The accessibility portion is what we call a screen reader. Everything in my life that houses a screen pretty much has this technology, and especially when it comes to my music. It reads the screen information aloud to me. I can see what I'm doing, and I can navigate freely through my programs and sounds. However, it can also be quite annoying.

I have a friend who is visually impaired, and she demoed that for me. She is so fast.

My friend says it's like a word boomerang.

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