BENJAMYN & BRÍ – Single Review: “Illuminate”

Today I’m pleased to showcase the enchanting collaborative single “Illuminate“, by Irish singer-songwriter and electronic music producer BENJAMYN (aka Ben Hogan) and Irish singer-songwriter Brí (aka Briana Horan). I’ve previously featured Brí twice on this blog, whereas BENJAMYN is new to me.

For a bit of background on the two artists, both of whom are based in Dublin, BENJAMYN is a multi-instrumentalist who’s been performing since he was a child, experimenting with musical genres ranging from indie rock and acoustic folk to funk and hip-hop to create his own distinctive blend of indie, dance, and electronica. His songs have received coverage from radio stations, blogs and playlists across Ireland and beyond, and he’s played numerous shows around Dublin since launching his music project in 2018. This past February he released his marvelous debut album FLOW to both critical and fan acclaim.

Brí is a lovely and talented singer-songwriter with the voice of an angel, creating hauntingly beautiful and emotionally compelling indie pop with folk and electronic overtones. In the summer of 2019, she began dropping a series of singles that culminated in the release of her excellent debut album Hide, in October 2021. Her music has garnered radio airplay and received high praise from numerous music writers, me included (I wrote about two of her singles, “More Than” and “Time”, which you can read by clicking on the ‘Related’ links at the end of this post.) She’s performed at Beatvyne’s Music X Tech Experience, Whelan’s Ones to Watch, The Ruby Sessions, and headlined The Sound House in Dublin and Spirit Store in Dundalk.

Released through BlueTide Music, “Illuminate” was co-written and recorded virtually by BENJAMYN and Brí, produced by BENJAMYN (who also created the striking artwork for the single), mixed by Michael Heffernan and mastered by Peter Montgomery. About their first collaboration together, Brí commented “I heard the early beginnings of Ben’s beat on Instagram. I was so compelled to write a song to it that I messaged him straight away; luckily he was up for a co-write. Both of us were going through our own ‘uphill battle’ at the time. ‘Illuminate’ fueled us to overcome those struggles and we hope it does the same for you.” BENJAMYN added “I was buzzing to work with Brí on this track. It all came about so naturally after she heard an earlier version of the beat, and when we spoke I knew she would be perfect for it. Once we started writing the song together it really came into its own. I think we both felt the same vibe from the beginning, and I leveraged our ideas with the production as best I could. I can’t wait for people to hear it and feel like they’re lighting up.”

The song is gorgeous, featuring an intricate mix of shimmery and skittering percussive synths layered over a deep, pulsating synth bass beat, creating a captivating atmospheric soundscape that conveys feelings of enlightenment, of emerging from darkness into the glorious light.

The lyrics speak to addressing our challenges head-on, learning to overcome them, or at least accept them and not allow them to defeat us, in order to live a brighter existence. I like how Brí sings the first two verses, with BENJAMYN joining her at the end of the second verse “Shedding my skin, it’s paper thin, body twitching, I’m itching. Problem, it’s time to fix it. I’m reaching in, I’m healing all of my feelings. Feeling good, good. Pick myself up off the floor, I can do what I want.“, then singing the third verse: “I’m fighting on an uphill battle, but my wounds are only small and shallow. I move with greater purpose filling me, my shine is light a starlight shimmering. If I could take the world into this fight, and turn all of the darkness into light. Then maybe they would stop prohibiting, and we could all begin envisioning a brighter way.” He’s a fine singer too, and his warm vocals complement Brí’s lilting ethereal vocals quite nicely.

Here’s the song on Youtube: