The long-awaited self-titled debut from SYML is out today (May 3rd). A self-taught producer/programmer/engineer, as well as a guitarist, percussionist and classically trained pianist, music was always in Brian Fennell (aka SYML). SYML was born after writing the song “Where’s My Love,” which has gone on to stream more than 200 million times, used in over 20 syncs and is Certified Gold in the U.S., Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, and is certified Platinum in Canada. His follow up, the anthemic track “Clean Eyes,” spent three months in the Top #30 on the Alternative Radio Chart. He has continued to write emotive, personal music — songs like “Girl,” about his young daughter’s surgery, “The Bird,” about the difficulty of holding onto to something we care about, “Break Free,” about misogyny in our society, and “Wildfire,” written when the hills of Washington were raining ash down on his home.
Simplicity is what moves SYML – pronounced “sih-mul,” it means “simple” in Welsh. A child of a closed adoption, Fennell only discovered his Welsh roots as an adult shortly before naming the project. The songwriting process for ‘SYML’ was a therapeutic one, forcing him to confront his feelings around his identity, fatherhood, relationships and all the unexpected challenges we have to face. Recorded in his basement studio, 20 miles outside of Seattle, it was mostly produced by Fennell himself, with additional collaboration from Mark Ralph (Clean Bandit, Rudimental) and Chad Copelin. Mixed by Grammy award-winning engineer Joe Visciano (Beck, Adele), SYML by SYML is the sound of Brian Fennell opening up and letting us in, his emotional honesty and way with a killer melody and sharply observed lyric combining to powerful effect.
