In July of 2020, Nate Brenner had a serious running accident. “Okay so how do I still play bass?” was all he could think the whole way to the hospital. “Maybe I can prop it like this, or kinda play with this hand here…”
He returned home with a broken collar bone and dread for how long he might be forced to rest, like an athlete with a torn ACL.
At first, trying to play music felt daunting and difficult. “Sometimes you’re on top of the world,” he says of the creation process, “and sometimes you’re like: I never want to do music again.”
Bouncing between these extremes, Brenner—one half of the music project Tune-Yards and known for scoring films like Sorry to Bother You—completed work on Other Possibilities, his fourth album under the name Naytronix. The album started off as a pursuance: a search for the perfect version of whatever it is we’re supposed to be creating. But what he found over the course of the four years writing the album, through changes both intentional and circumstantial, was that his strongest work happened when the boundaries came down, the pressure was gone and the process became more enjoyable.
What’s your story as an artist?
Just trying to connect and share energy with other humans, plants, and animals. It’s an evolving tale that loves to repeat the same themes but always has a new ending.
What do you want your music to communicate?
Love, humor, gratitude, fear, motion, emotions, connection and interspecies connection.
What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
Mount Analogue by Rene Daumal. Eckhart Tolle, the 1992 Chicago Bulls.
Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?
Xenia Rubinos
What’s the record or artist that made you realize you wanted to be an artist?
Bootsy Collins
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
I started working on this music a few years ago and wanted to reconnect with the joy I used to have when I made music in highschool twenty years ago. One of the first sessions I did was with Stephen Patota and Ben Sloan. They flew out from Cincinnati for a week and we jammed a lot and overdubbed on some ideas I had. I wanted to bring them in early because they both bring out the love of music in me and each other. Towards the end of this album we were deep in the pandemic so I had to record and play all the instruments myself. It was a really great feeling to have started out this project with some close collaborators and finishing it off on my own. I felt like it was the best of both worlds.
What inspires your sound?
It’s a combination of sounds I like from the years 1971, 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021. I sometimes try to sound like the year 2031 as well.
What’s your favorite tune of yours?
Right now it’s Indigo, the first track off my new album.
Where are some things you really want to accomplish as an artist?
Staying grateful for everyday I can continue to be an artist.
Favorite lyric you ever wrote?
If I don’t die of love I wasn’t giving enough
Was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up?
It happens almost everyday!
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Don’t wait for anyone else’s approval or validation.
Where do you think the next game changer will be in the music industry and entertainment scene?
Right now they’re probably in the womb soaking up all the fresh tunes and will be a combination of Pharrell and Yoko Ono.
