Australian progressive rock songwriter Jeff Brunne, the mastermind behind the JB Fairfield project, is no stranger to breaking musical boundaries. With his latest album, Parts of Life, he takes a more fragmented, introspective approach—penning shorter, but evocative songs that bring together elements of prog, post-rock, classical, and folk. Inspired by life’s fleeting moments and the nostalgia that rainstorms can bring, the album serves as both a personal reflection and an exploration of storytelling through sound. Brunne’s track “Three Weeks of Rain” is also featured on Progotronics 50. In this interview, we dive into the creative process behind Parts of Life, the emotions that fuel his songwriting, and how his evolving sound continues to challenge the conventions of progressive music.
Parts of Life takes a different approach compared to your previous albums. What inspired you to create a collection of shorter, more fragmented compositions?
I compose more music than I will ever publish. Over time, I found I was developing a large catalogue of shorter, song based compositions that I wanted to share. I became curious about whether people might like to hear this material. In arranging the material I enjoyed the challenge of discovering whether three or four minute songs could still be interesting and sound like prog.
The album revolves around a protagonist reflecting on life during weeks of torrential rain. How did you develop this concept, and does it draw from personal experiences?
There are times when circumstances means your normal routines of life are altered. One example was the Covid lockdown period, which for me fostered introspection that inspired the Unbearable Lightness of Being album. I like to walk and ride bicycles so rain affects that and, living as I do in a subtropical area, sometimes rain sets in for a while and you feel at loose ends. In addition, the regular patterns of rain seems to inspire nostalgia for me and I find myself being visited by half-forgotten memories.
Your music blends influences from prog, post-rock, electronic, classical, and more. How do you approach weaving these genres together naturally?
Thank you for thinking my haphazard approach to music comes together naturally! Good music, which I try to compose, takes its inspiration from many sources so strays from the simplicity of labels. In the golden age of prog in the 1970s the great bands experimented with blending different styles of music together. They were pioneers, certainly, but also they weren’t afraid to acknowledge all of the music that inspired them in their compositions. In addition, I find it fun to arrange a baroque style guitar part over a rock bass groove and jazz drum parts. Sometimes this happens by accident but I like to celebrate happy accidents!
You’ve described Parts of Life as a ‘concept album’ with recurring themes and variations. What connects these pieces musically and thematically?
Observant listeners will note some of the musical themes in Three Weeks of Rain and Time for Leaving occur in different songs on the album, and the chorus of Divergence, Convergence also appears in Later That Same Night as the verse, and the last instrumental. What may not be so obvious is that in each album I try to work with unique sounds and different types of arrangements. For instance in Parts of Life, I often played two acoustic guitars harmonising with each other and playing complementary lines and simplified some of the arrangements to make them more personal. I hope unique approaches to arrangement also give a distinct character to each album.
Many of the songs deal with deep, emotional themes like grief, motivation, and disenchantment with society. Was there a particular moment or event that shaped these themes for you?
After setting the scene in the first song, the next song Lonely Eyes is a reflection on the death of my mother. This was a powerful opportunity to reflect on life and death and what actually constitutes a good life anyway. World is Turning is an affirmation that life continues. Throughout the album I recount recent experiences that pull me in different directions – Time for leaving is about how you can be disappointed by circumstances and other people and want to be by yourself while Later That Same Night is about being drawn back into relationships. We often think of these push-pull experiences as being good or bad, but they are all part of me, part of life.
How did the creative process for Parts of Life compare to your earlier instrumental works, such as A Drama of Lightness and Unbearable Lightness of Being?
My creative process is always the same. I pick up an instrument and start noodling on it. At some point I discover a sequence of notes which appeals to me, find a certain mood or create a new sound with my playing or effects that moves me. Who can say where inspiration comes from but you know it is there because you are still playing hours later and you’ve forgotten to eat or sleep! The kind of music I listen to or compose tells a story. In the first couple of releases I told those stories instrumentally, sometimes with the help of sound effects but I have since used lyrics to help tell the stories.
Your music has evolved to incorporate more vocals over the years. How has this shift influenced the way you tell stories through your compositions?
I love listening to music where I’m not quite sure what the composer is saying but enjoy the way they are saying it. It draws me in and I find that I am telling my own story of the composition myself. Good composers say they allow a certain ambiguity in their music so listeners can find their own interpretation and make it relevant to them. In my first full length album I shared an instrumental called Intimations of Mortality. Now who am I to tell you what happens to your immortal soul, if you have one. What I created was a space for listeners to muse about things like this. Now with lyrics, my music can offer more concrete ideas for listeners to consider. When I write lyrics I often have two or three parallel ideas I am exploring. The finalised song remains open to interpretation so that listeners can still have the fun of working out what the song is about.
The album features folk and heavy rock elements alongside your usual post-prog influences. Were these styles a deliberate exploration, or did they emerge organically during composition?
Yes, that’s right. I think there are more folk and heavy elements here than previously and this was deliberate. Approaching a new album with different stylistic inspirations helps to make the album sound unique. These particular styles also suited the shorter songs I was writing. Of course, as I went about arranging the music in a way that I enjoyed various unexpected things happened – as they always do – and sometimes I liked the accidental bits more than what I planned. My music and the music I love to listen to will always have this organic element.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu carries a deeply spiritual message. What drew you to include this phrase, and how does it fit within the album’s narrative?
When I listen to a great prog song, like King Crimson’s Starless, I find myself drawn into the various different components and how they build frenetically towards a conclusion, which is often a moment of exquisite beauty that I feel strongly because I have been immersed in listening. In my humble way I try to provide opportunities for the listener to experience these transcendent emotions in most of my songs. In a similar vein, because my albums are generally concept albums, I feel it is nice to share one piece per album which gives the listener a chance to relax and enjoy life, to take a deep breath and realise it is all good. In ancient Sanskrit, the title means “May all beings everywhere be happy and free” and I sincerely wish this for all my listeners. I believe that when you are able to accept all the parts of yourself, then you can find this peace.
With such a wide range of influences, do you find that certain historical musical periods resonate with you more when composing?
Despite what we learn in our lives, what we experience when we are young has the greatest long term influence on us. I grew up listening to the great prog bands of the 1970s and classical music (especially Bach, Mozart and the Russian composers). These influences will always be with me. Recently I have been listening to a lot to the music of the 1960s. What an amazing decade! People started off listening to Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini in 1960 and ended with In the Court of the Crimson King. It wouldn’t surprise me if this listening was influencing my compositions.
Given that your music is very introspective, do you write with a particular audience in mind, or is it a personal exploration first and foremost?
That’s such a great question. It’s almost impossible to separate out how much you are composing for your own sake and the extent to which you are making something to share with others. In simple terms, the original spark in a new song relates to an idea that primarily captivates or appeals to me. As I work through the arrangement I try to find elements that might delight a listener and help them engage with what I am sharing with them. I think listeners enjoy albums to have concepts too. However, to be honest – it’s all about me! Making music helps me learn about myself, make sense of the world, discover new sounds, play cool passages of music and have fun.
What was the biggest challenge in crafting Parts of Life, and how did you overcome it?
As I said earlier I compose vastly more music than I will ever publish. When I was considering this type of album, I made a list of relevant songs I’d composed recently or years ago and that I liked. There were over 30 songs on the list. The first major challenge was to work out how to choose only a third of them. Up until two months before the album was finished I was still making changes. I overcame this challenge by gradually becoming clearer on what this album was about. The protagonist bounces around between experiences and thoughts about themselves that they like or did not like, and wondering if they are a worthwhile person. The answer is yes. There is no one like you. There has never been anyone like you nor will there be anyone like you ever again.
Your past work has touched on societal themes and the nature of consciousness. Do these philosophical ideas continue to shape your songwriting?
Steven Wilson has often said that he is basically a happy person but has always been attracted to the ‘poetry of melancholy’, so his art explores personal tragedy. Similarly, I don’t spend my days taking solitary walks and wondering about the nature of existence! However I get a deep thrill when I read or hear something that beautifully explains who or what we human beings really are. For me, music is just about the pinnacle of human existence so when I am exploring music I naturally seem to find myself discovering deep concepts, and sometimes realising things I didn’t quite understand before. There is every chance I will continue to do this!
Was there a track on Parts of Life that surprised you the most in terms of how it developed?
Most of my music surprises me, but I guess I can single out Wild Wind Promised Me (Rain). This started out as a folk composition, then became a brash punk song then it morphed into whatever it is now. Just when I thought I had pinned the arrangement down then another left field notion occurred and I played a keyboard part on guitar or played a guitar part on percussion. Also, I felt the word ‘rain’ was powerful to me in this song, but was I referring to actual weather or inner turmoil? I’m still not entirely sure what this song is about!
As a solo artist, do you ever collaborate with other musicians, or do you prefer to maintain full creative control over your compositions?
JB Fairfield is a solo project and will probably remain that way. I enjoy the freedom of being able to do whatever I like. However, we are all the sum of our experiences. Powerful encounters I have had with others and insightful conversations I have had with friends are incorporated into my compositions, so in some sense they are all collaborators. I also love catching up with other musicians and talking about music generally and ways to go about doing music. It’s wonderful to support each other in this way.
What’s next for JB Fairfield? Are you already thinking about your next musical direction?
Thanks for asking and all the great questions in this interview. My next album, which I’m planning to release later this year will be called Timeless Worlds and is a ‘soundtrack’ album with more instrumental music. In composing the material for this next album I have found myself channelling my inner Mike Oldfield, Mogwai and Tolkien. That’s unless some other notion comes out of left field and I do something else entirely! Thanks for all you do to support prog music and its composers. It’s a great genre of music.
Parts of Life is available on Bandcamp.
