With his new single "Know This", Braison Cyrus steps into a fresh era of his artistry — one shaped as much by self-discovery as it is by sound. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist opens up about the whirlwind of release week, the song’s lightning-fast creation with collaborator Jordan Lindley and how producing his own music has redefined what it means to be in the driver’s seat. In our conversation, Braison reflects on nostalgia, creative freedom, and the moments — from banjo licks to 'Magic: The Gathering' cards — that make this chapter uniquely his own.
How is release week treating you?
Pretty good so far. I’m just trying to, you know, I guess be active – I'm not so bad with social media stuff; I don't want people to ever get promotion fatigue. Everybody's like, you gotta do this, you gotta do that, and it feels like too much, but it seems like people are responding well. So that's usually my, you know, kind of gripe with like this part of the cycle. But luckily, I have fun content to use and was out in LA filming stuff. And so it's been pretty good.
On Instagram, you shared that “songs usually take me hours to write, but Jordan Lindley and I sat down and finished this in about 45 minutes because we were having so much fun with it.” Can you share a little bit more about the production behind this track and what it was about working with Lindley that made that possible?
I think it's because we knew what we wanted to do. I had the whole album done and “Know This” hadn't been on there yet. And so I played it for a bunch of people, and I think I either got the “sad” or “depressing” feedback, and so I was like, well, I don't want that to be the case.
I had Jordan over, and we were actually working on a song for a different artist. I thought, I want to work on this. And so I had two voice memos with two ideas for him. He was like, “You've got to do that one.” And so we sat down, and I had a good bit of the chorus part already done.
We knew what we were starting with. I feel like whenever I'm writing with people, or writing by myself, figuring out “where are we going to start?” is sometimes hard.
And since I had already figured out that part, we just sat down and did it. We also did all the music stuff first, which I never do. So it's just arranging it kind of first and then going back and adding lyrics to it later.
Was there a point in putting it together that you thought, this is it, this is the heart of the song?
I mean, it sounds so weird – I don't think it was until we recorded that banjo lick in it. I think that's when I was like, “Okay, I'm really excited about this.” It lifts the whole collection up a little bit in energy.
It had a kind of effect on everything else. There were a lot of songs on it that actually – every song on it was just acoustic… vocal… piano. And then, you know, this song made me go back and add drums and bass and more stuff to other songs. So it had a weird effect on the whole album basically.
But yeah, I think it was once we started recording the banjo that I felt like I was doing something that wasn't normal for me. And I think that that's when it started feeling like, okay, I really love where this is going.
How does “Know This” reflect where you are in life right now?
I wrote and recorded everything for this album between April and September last year, so I think it's definitely a more accurate reflection of that time.
But you know, I'm a producer, I'm a writer, and so I’ve worked with other artists in that time, writing songs and producing records for them.
Sometimes I'll get really excited about new things I'm working on, or I'll write a new song for myself, which I usually don't do until I'm thinking about my next project. I’ve been sending these to my manager like, “Oh my God, check this out,” and he’s like, “Hold on, stay with what you’re doing.” Then I go back, listen to the whole album, and we’re getting ready to do some shows.
I found myself falling back in love with it again. Even though it was only a year ago, the songs already feel nostalgic to me. I think 2024 has been a really cool year for me, and listening to the whole record makes me nostalgic for that time.
Considering your background in film, if your album could be a film or a movie, what would be the plot?
I don't want to sound corny and call it a coming-of-age story—especially since I’m 30. It feels a little late for that. And as much as I’d love to call it an epic fantasy, I don’t think that fits either.
Even though I didn’t put as much emphasis on the lyrics for "Know This" as I did on the rest of the album, it kind of feels like the thesis of the whole thing. I grew up in Franklin, Tennessee—about 30 minutes south of Nashville. It was pretty small back then. I moved to LA, then eventually moved back to Nashville. “Know This” feels like it’s about both places, even though they couldn’t be more different.
When I was 14, I couldn’t wait to move to LA. By 21, I was over it and wanted to move back home. Then, after being home for a while, I started feeling restless, wondering where I was supposed to be. It made me realize that where you are physically often reflects your state of mind. “Know This” is really about finding comfort with where I live, where I am in life, and who I’m with—that’s the main statement of the whole thing.
Is there a particular landscape or environment that inspires you the most when it comes to writing or producing?
I grew up on a lot of undeveloped land, so my earlier music was heavily influenced by nature. Folk music naturally carries that sense of open skies and the outdoors.
But lately, my inspiration has shifted. "Know This" reflects that a bit—it still has those folk elements, but there are also songs inspired by urban settings like LA, New York, and downtown Nashville. A lot of my recent work draws more from the energy of the city rather than the natural world, which is a big change from the music I was making five or six years ago.
What is your earliest memory of creating sound, not even necessarily music but sound?
Not to paint too folksy a picture of my childhood, but shooting cans or boxes of cereal with like BB guns and those kinds of things. I also used to sit underwater, blowing bubbles, just listening to that sound.
Honestly, I didn't start playing guitar or music or anything like that until, man, I want to say freshman year of college. I mean, I took drum lessons when I was like eight, but I gave up after three months because everybody was sick of me only playing "Everlong" by Foo Fighters on the drums. I gave up on that because I didn't really want to do it.
I went to school for film and photography, but I didn't start playing guitar or really getting into music until my freshman year of college. And then I moved back to Nashville, probably like a year or two after that.
Is there a lyric or melody that surprised you the most on this album when it came out?
Hmm, I don't know if it surprised me, but lyrically my favourite song on the album is a song I put out in May called “From Now On.”
I think that, even though it's very abstract, it says almost exactly what I wanted to say. And so I think “From Now On,” I would say, if you wanted to know my ideal lyrical style and things like that, is probably the one.
Okay, rapid fire…
- Coffee or tea?
- Oh, coffee for sure.
- First concert you ever went to?
- Hanson.
- Dream duet partner — alive or dead?
- I'm gonna say two, they're both alive, either Imogen Heap or Gideon.
- One song you wish you had written?
- I don't know if there's a song I wish I wrote. I mean, maybe like a Bruno Mars song or something.
- Mountains or beach?
- Man, I would have said mountains, but the older I get, the beach is feeling pretty cool.
- Go-to comfort food?
- Chick-fil-A, I don't wanna say it, but it is true.
- Last TV show you binged?
- It's so embarrassing, but there's this very weird show called Castle Impossible on HGTV, I think it was on HGTV. And it's just these people, this lady inherited this mansion in Paris and her and her husband fixed it up. I binged the hell out of that
- A weird talent or party trick you have?
- I showed you the Magic: the Gathering cards? I don't know if that's a talent. I draw like knights and wizards and stuff.
You’ve said this new music marks the start of a new era for you — not just as a singer and performer, but also as a producer and songwriter. How does stepping into that bigger role feel?
Hmm, well, I think it was weird because I did artist stuff from 2018 up until 2020 and then COVID happened, all that jazz, and then I was really just kind of like, how do I pivot?
The touring side of things is so precarious at times, so I basically went into songwriting and producing, and then I realized I really loved this. And so I didn't really think I was gonna put out my own stuff again.
So, now that I've produced a couple of records and written songs for other people, it feels good to come back and be in the driver's seat for the whole thing.
There are producers that I really like and respect, but I don't really see myself not producing my own stuff for a while. Maybe there's one more record after that, and I'll want to go back to say, "Somebody else needs to bring something new to the table for me, production-wise." But for now, I don't see myself not producing my own stuff. You know?
And last one, imagine someone hears your music a hundred years from now. What do you hope they understand about you or this moment in time?
Man, I don't know. I hope they think it's good. I hope it's not like whenever I listen to something from the 20s and I'm like, who was listening to this? So hopefully, I guess, that would be my answer. I hope it's not like the hundred-year equivalent of being cringe.
"Know This" is out now.
