Brian Mackey – Learn To Be:
Brian Mackey knows: there are few things in life as brutal as a breakup. Once weβve become accustomed to the support of a partner, we can find it nearly impossible to stand alone; itβs no great exaggeration to say that weβre forced to learn to walk again. But emotional turbulence has often prompted gripping, forthright art, and Mackeyβs latest single is just that kind of a song. βLearn To Beβ is an aching, unflinching look at dependence within a troubled relationship β the lament of a man who is searching for a lost sense of self in the long shadow of his partner. Itβs exactly the sort of writing weβve come to expect from Mackey, an earnest chronicler of the human heart whose private reflections always have universal dimensions.
To translate the story of βLearn To Beβ to moving images, heβs turned to the Argentine filmmaker and artist Caro Patlis, who brings his song to life in bold color. Patlis has won international recognition as a director, but sheβs also a trained photographer, too β one who has worked for the legendary Danny Clinch β and her attention to composition and visual detail is apparent in every frame of the βLearn To Beβ clip. Here her camera follows a young painter whose latitude for expression is compromised by his obsessive dependence on the women in his life. Just as their protagonist flings paint at his canvas in frustration, Patlis and Mackey confront the viewer with scenes that are provocative, colorful, maybe a little messy, but always compulsively watchable.
βLearn To Beβ is the lead single from Brian Mackeyβs upcoming EP β one thatβs poised to extend a winning streak that began a decade ago with the imaginative, playful Feng Shui For Slobs EP. That disc earned Mackey his first placement (the song βPainted Red,β which was featured in the Disney Channelβs Naturally Sadie), and the singer-songwriter hasnβt looked back since. With its cinematic scope and its immersive beauty, Mackeyβs music is a natural fit for television and movies, and his songs have scored programming on the Travel Channel, A&E, Lifetime, and numerous other filmed projects. Broken Heartstrings, Mackeyβs 2014 set, earned him attention on CMT for the expansive βAmericaβ. Heβs persuaded ace producer Jon Levine β the man who put the muscle in Rachel Plattenβs βFight Songβ β to man the boards for his set. Heβs on the brink of a major breakthrough, and we wonβt be surprised at all if βLearn To Beβ is the single that makes the telegenic Mackey a star.
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