Bryn McCutcheon is a 3rd year MIT student. On one hand she is just like any other student, on the other, she is already an accomplished musician. When not doing school work, Bryn can be found near a piano with a notebook in hand, using her life as inspiration for her songwriting. With her wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, tall figure and soulful voice, Bryn reminds me of a new and improved Taylor Swift. I sat down with her to learn about her and her music!
How long have you been performing? And how did you get into it?
I did my first musical in grade 6—I had to wear a big wedding dress and I was a skinny tall 12-year-old girl. They drew on black eyebrows, and I had a British accent too… and that kinda scared me but I really enjoyed it. I honestly didn’t perform till years later, till 2011, so 5 years ago. I was 15.
Why did it take so long?
I moved countries. I was in England before for 12 years! At 15, I started writing songs even though I was starting to perform because that’s when you’re a teen and you’re going through a bunch of emotions.
Tell me about your latest album. Is it your first?
“Gone” is my 2nd album that I’ve released on iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify.
I released my first album “Freefall” in 2015. I’ve written it while at Western actually. There are seven tracks on it and it’s a lot more produced than my last album. Boys inspired me a bit—the reason it’s called “Gone” was because to me it was the idea of letting go of what no longer served you, or bettered you. It was about letting go of pain and learning to support friends, and shifting the focus of my life a little bit to focus on what made me happy.
What is your favourite song on it and why?
“Parachute,” which is the top selling one right now, which is kinda fun. It’s really upbeat and I really like how much energy it has. It was also the first song that I showed to my friends and I remember their reactions so I’m always happy when I hear it.
Do the boys you’ve written about know you’ve written about them? Have they reacted to your songs?
For the most part they’re oblivious, which is the way I’d like to keep it. I actually had a song that I was going to record that was too specific which if the person had heard it would be like “that’s an experience we’ve shared.” For my first album, that’s about the first time I’ve fallen in love and that person definitely knows it’s about them.
What else are you involved with at Western?
I’m a FIMS faculty soph, musician and a student. Those are my big three things at Western. On top of having to cook and clean for myself which is already a lot.
From here, what is the next goal? What is the dream?
Short term, I’m getting into performing more on campus and hopefully off-campus. I’m planning to record another album next summer!
Long term, I would love to be next Taylor Swift. I would love to be able to tour and be able to get paid for my music. I’m currently looking more for a job that combines music and business. Whatever I do, I want there to be music my life. That’s basically it.
Listen to Bryn’s music and learn more about her songs here:
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1170685882?ls=1&app=itunes
Apple Music: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1170685882