All My Friends (Music Video and Interview)

Written by Ben Werther

Ben Werther: For people who haven't watched your new music video, what is it about? 

Brion Starr: I think people have been lonely lately, and they want to feel good; to be with others. It's about people trying to love one another. All my friends really love each other. Since it’s such a small group of people always hanging out, everybody seems to have slept with each other.

BW: Do you think you can platonically be someone's Valentine?

BS: Yeah, totally. I really love this group of friends that I wrote this song about. The whole idea is that I love when people love each other, and I have platonic relationships that I enjoy just as much as my non-platonic ones.

BW: Is your valentine going to be a member of your friend group?

BS: I haven't asked anyone yet.

BW: What were you doing in Paris?

BS: I was working at a studio there where I recorded my last album, and I recorded All My Friends there as well. It's an old castle that was a recording studio from the sixties. It closed in the eighties. A lot of people recorded there, like David Bowie and Iggy Pop, The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd. We’re the first band to record a full length album there since it's reopened. We got to use the piano that Elton John wrote Candle In the Wind on. The room was at the very top of the castle, and it has a  pyramid shaped ceiling with these huge wooden beams running through it. It was kind of like an instrument itself. The sounds in there were crazy.

We have an album we recorded there that's coming out at the end of this year called A Night to Remember. That's what I was doing when I was in Europe, mastering that album and setting up the year’s plans with my record label. 

BW: How much time do you spend listening to your own music? 

BS: After I release an album, I pretty much never listen to it again. Before I release it I’m obsessive about it. I’ve probably listened to A Night to Remember at least 150 times by now. 

BW: Do you ever listen to (your music) and think, it's unfair how good this is?

BS: Yeah,  as soon as something's done, I want to share it and start asking the band and my friends for opinions. I'm bad with that. I get really excited. I do believe that it's a very good record and I'm really excited to make the music videos for it.  I want to make a little movie that's four or five of the songs all linked into one narrative. There’s a character in the album who's weaving their way through a weird night in New York, or some city that I made up in my mind.

BW: Do you think people set up unnecessary boundaries in friendships?

BS: I've definitely set boundaries that were unnecessary. I've done the work to grow and open myself up more to people, which has been a conscious effort. I used to be super introverted and pretty much agoraphobic. I didn't want to go outside half the time, I was in my own world. I did a lot of inner growing, then,   now I’m a much more extroverted person.

BW: What advice would you have for someone who is trying to evade a friend zone situation?

BS: Just be really honest and open and say, “Hey, I like you.” Make sure the friendship is the thing leading your desire to be with them.

BW: What's your DM game like?

BS: I'll definitely hit someone up if I think they're cool. 

BW: Do you have a pick up line or something that you use for dms?

BS: No.

BW: So you’re just like what's up?

BS: Hi.

BW: Nice. Because “hey” is for horses, right?

BS: Yeah. “You look cool” is nice.  Because what do you judge people off of on Instagram? It's just images, really. Sometimes i’ll compliment someone's artwork or something if I really like it, just to talk to people about their work and about what they do. I'm extremely fascinated by people generally. 

BW: So what would be a compliment you’d like to get?

BS: I am blown away when people write considerate messages to me about music. There's this 10 year old kid in Germany, who's obsessed with the music. He writes to me all the time. He speaks mostly German, so his English is a little funny in the messages. He sent me a message like, “I really want to have an autograph from you, I have autographs from my favorite musicians, but I don't have one from you. I just got one from Benny Andersson from Abba and My parents got me Michael Jackson for Christmas.”  So I sent him a signed record.

BW: So he's your biggest fan?

BS: I mean, he's like our littlest fan, I think.

BW: Can we shout him out in this article?

BS: Yeah, Etienne!

BW: Shout out to Etienne!

BS: Do you want to ask anyone to be your Valentine? 

BS: I wonder if you guys could get me a date with Tracey Emin? That'd be pretty wild. Set me up with Tracey Emin!

BW: That's a good one. Have you ever been like set up with someone like that before?

BS: I've been set up on a few dates. It's weird. 

BW: What don't you like about it? 

BS: I just like when relationships are born naturally and come from the people I already feel a great ease around. I was recently telling  a friend of mine that the reason I love her so much is because she gives me this great sense of calm. When I'm with her, it’s like when you're really far out in the ocean and a big wave comes, but you're way past the point where it's breaking, and you the whole thing just moves up and down. That's what it feels like; just laying out in the ocean on your back. It's like this giant calm. I really love that feeling. I love to just be with someone where we feel calm around each other and can just talk and talk and talk. It's really beautiful. 

BW: Do you have anything else that you want to add?

BS: I would love it if people shared their ideas about love with me as well. That'd be cool. DM me.

BW: Drop your @.

BS: @brionstarr.