Celebrating the musical and cultural diversity of Berkshire

Born, raised, and still based on a council estate in Bracknell, MUNBOI was fed up with the lack of a local music scene. So what did he do? He became the change he wanted to see, making a collaborative EP with his favourite artists from across Berkshire, in a project which celebrates the musical and cultural diversity of the area.

MUNBOI, aka Brandon James, is your mate who'd jump headfirst off a skateboard if he thought it'd make you laugh. A multi-hyphenate singer-songwriter, rapper, DJ, and producer, his aim is to bring the auditory beauty in our daily lives to life. Inspired by his parents' love of everything from Goldie to Frank Sinatra, he fell in love with music from day one, started DJing garage at 12, and freestyling on YouTube beats at 15 with his mates - until one day when he was 17 they ran out of YouTube beats, and he had to make some himself! Now, he combines releasing and performing his own songs with running local recording studio, content house, and music social hub Turntable Media. Taking influence from Jamiroquai, Tyler, the Creator, and Pharrell Williams, he's racked up 4m streams, multiple Radio 1 plays, and five concussions. 


"I’ve always had a mental radio station playing in my head whilst I go about my day, and often it’s just elevator music - but sometimes it’s a banger - if it is, I’ll grab my laptop and turn it into a song!"  - MUNBOI

However his successes rang hollow - he was tired of putting out tunes and having fans online, and gigging in London - but not being able to celebrate those moments with fans in his own hometown. Hence this project: four tracks, made in studio downtime, over the 'Weekends', with Berkshire's best artists. It's been a roaring success - he packed out notorious bar Purple Turtle for a launch show at the start of the year, and now he's gearing up for the release of the full EP this week, with the tracks from the project having already amassed 100k streams, galvanising a growing community of hundreds of new fans of his music, who now know him as central to the scene.

The tracks themselves weave a tapestry of rich creative heritage, tapping into artists from Billie Eilish to Gorillaz, through a series of tales of crumbling relationships - while spinning in covert references to fan jokes and homage to local legends. The visuals nod less subtly to landmarks - with scenes shot on an iconic No17 bus, in sunny picnic spot Forbury Gardens, and outside cultural hub Reading Gaol, where Oscar Wilde was famously imprisoned.


First up on the EP is 'Ghost', where the vocals of Ace Clvrk take centre stage. Fresh from being named on the MOBO Unsung list, and performing on Britain's Got Talent, Ace's voice is undeniably compelling, as he vents the story of a love lost to hate: a break-up anthem for when you want absolutely nothing to do with someone - for when you want to cut them off completely. The track starts with whistling and howling, gradually rising throughout into an awesome crescendo of driven guitars and haunting vocals. The bass and lead lines, drawing on Arctic Monkeys' AM sound, are added by rock maestro Rose Rey (formerly of local trailblazers VALERAS). It's a mix which makes for a bold and slow burning fan favourite, and creates a raucous atmosphere live. Hilariously though, Ace initially came up with the track's ferocious melody during a toilet break, mid-session! Ace's inclusion on the EP also represents Reading's huge Barbadian community - the largest outside of Barbados itself.


'8AM' is a song about the beginning of a breakup, from three unique perspectives. Featuring Earley RnB songwriter Bethia, and Maidenhead's own LoFi producer/rapper Tarun Puri, it speaks on insecurity and deception, regrets, and feeling trapped in a relationship - a range of emotions which would come out through an 8AM phone call. Despite its soft, sensitive sound, it has a sonic eeriness to it. And while it feels like a smooth pop track, the storyline is embedded in the structure in a way akin to a folk song - with each verse and singer in turn providing exposition, conflict, and then resolution.


'Get Gone' is a track for letting loose. It features two of Berkshire's biggest adrenaline junkies, whose drug of choice is big sounding tunes - as MUNBOI's frenetic energy is combined with that of Reading rock maniac Split The Dealer. As they tell the tale of a relationship gone south over a funky beat, their frenzied vocals dovetail and spiral out into a soulful, supercharged chorus which will have you bouncing off the walls. Soon you'll be telling everyone you want out of your life to 'Get Gone'! (Fun fact: "Get Gone" was initially "who's Shaun" - an in joke referencing fellow Turntable Media director Shaun Dagnall)


'Yesterday' is a lullaby for leaving someone. In it, MUNBOI and his pals sunnily bop into the distance, talking of a toxic partner cut off undramatically - just by avoiding and ignoring their rudeness. There's a nostalgic, wistful energy around the coy, softly-sung vocal hook, and an uplifting, fresh feel to the guitar tone. Henjila, a Sandhurst based popstar who's family moved to the area so her father, a Gurkha, could be near the local barracks, adds a paradoxically sweet and blunt verse, and beautiful harmonies in the chorus. Finally, Ray Wills delivers a charismatic and catchy flow, over his own fresh, indie-inspired guitar strums in the backing. With a chord pattern initially laid down by Newbury's viral prodigy Maddie Ashman, this is one of the most collaborative tracks on the project - and it's a perfectly summery and optimistic conclusion to it.

MUNBOI will be back in Reading at Oakford Social Club on Thursday September 18th, for a free show with Turntable Media's events brand, Closer To Home.


Artist bio:
MUNBOI, real name Brandon James, is a versatile 26 year old British-Chinese-Malaysian alternative artist, producer, and audio engineer from the council estates of Bracknell. Surrounded by tunes, in a household where his parents would play anything from Frank Sinatra to Goldie, it was almost inevitable that Brandon would turn to music to express himself. He started DJing garage tunes aged 12, and freestyling on YouTube beats in sheds at 15 with his mates - until one day when he was 17 he ran out of YouTube beats, and dived into production himself. A natural, he quickly won an Abbey Road Studios Production competition, and in 2022, he signed a deal with indiemono for his own artist project.

Finding himself labelled as an alternative and indie-pop artist largely because no tag truly encompasses his sound, he draws from hip-hop, electronic, and pop music equally, earning comparisons to Tyler The Creator, Jamiroquai and Pharrell Williams.