Brightness

Occasionally all you need is a little encouragement.

This statement couldn’t ring more true for up and coming artist Brightness. When Alex Knight first embarked on this new journey into the solo realm with the moniker Brightness he was perfectly satisfied with it simply being a recording project which never stepped on stage for live performances. This mindset all changed once he was given the support and encouragement from his record label and management to do a live show.

“Once I was encouraged by all of these people and eventually did it I was so glad I had.” reflected Alex.

You might have expected Brightness to have started with a small intimate gig for the first show but he actually went for a plan that was the polar opposite. For his first gig under the new moniker and format he would play at the esteemed Sydney venue The Basement to a respectable crowd made up of not only friends, family and fans but also representatives from the record label and his management team.

Looking back at that show Alex said, “It doesn’t get any harder than that but these aren’t things to shy away from.”

By kicking off the career with such an intense show each and every subsequent show was going to be a breeze. In the lead up to his upcoming show in Sydney Alex said, “I feel a lot more confident about my performance on stage now.”

Despite being very early in his career as Brightness Alex has previously been involved in the music industry as a drummer for a band which he formed during his time living in London. Alex says his time in London was never primarily about music though but rather he simply “wanted to live in a new country and experience a different culture.”

Having this prior experience in the industry has allowed Alex to have a great oversight on the global music industry, particularly with respect to new acts breaking in.

“I don’t have anything bad to say about any of the industries specifically,” explained Alex, “America though have the college radio setup which gives artists a lot of avenues to get on the radio. Whereas here there’s only a select few stations you can hope to get on so it can be a lot more difficult.”

With the rise of streaming radio this appears to be a problem aspect of the Australian music industry which we’re slowly beginning to rectify.

Jun 30, 8-11pm. Botany View Hotel, 597 King St, Newtown. FREE. Info: www.facebook.com/BotanyViewHotel