Brian Christinzio, better known by his artist’s persona BC Camplight, is one of the most exciting songwriters currently alive and working in Britain. Bringing together ungodly amounts of influence to each and every song, Christinzio’s discography is as eclectic as it is fascinating, tracing his own personal experiences with addiction, mental health issues and being an American in Britain.
Currently in the process of piecing together a new album, Christinzio seems to be in a period of transition, building on the progressive successes of his previous LP, The Last Rotation on Earth. Sitting down to discuss this process with The Mancunion, Christinzio was nothing but honest. “I’m about 3/4 way through the new record. It’s probably the first time where I have a bit of pressure on me. There were never really any expectations before. And it was kind of like if we played the [O2] Ritz, great. That was the goal. But now, the last record did pretty well, so the shows are already booked for next year.”
The new album is currently being recorded at Whitewood Studios in Liverpool, a place that clearly resonates with Christinzio. “I did my album Deportation Blues, there and then, I just like the system so… It’s just me in a room, and a guy that helps me kind of run the cables and stuff. So there’s not a lot of outside distraction. This helps me concentrate. I know I’m locked away somewhere, and trapped.”
“I produce all my own records. Just me. And I play everything.” Christinzio is no stranger to a studio environment, having played piano as a session player back in Philadelphia for Sharon Van Etten. “[Session work] does help you learn just how things work in the studio and how to make the most of your time, and how to not waste people’s time.” A true, post-recessionary artist. Despite this, Christinzio was quick to add: “I still fucking waste more time than anybody on the planet.”
Having recently being diagnosed with ADHD, it appears Christinzio is in the process of reckoning with his own creative process. “My albums take forever, and the first two or three months, I usually end up throwing [parts] away… But I’d rather do that and go into debt, then put out something I’m not happy with.”
One of the brilliant facets of BC Camplight’s music are Christinzio’s dense arrangements – sonic blends of acoustic guitar or piano with fuzzed, rocking electric guitars, saxophones, 80s pop synths or even strings. Most would naturally assume this as a product of hours of studio experimentation, but then again, the masses are often wrong: “I’d say 90% of the stuff I do in this, in the studio are ideas that I’ve had on my way to the studio… There’s not a whole lot of experimenting… those ideas are usually just kind of playing in my head and I just decipher them.”
Christinzio has always balanced these elements with inscrutable precision, melding sounds that otherwise would sound at odds with one another. “I’m always really mindful that like my kind of kitchen sink approach of having so many things in the song… you have to do that very carefully or it’s gonna sound stupid.”
Just like the music of BC Camplight appears, throughout the conversation Christinzio seemed to balance raw honesty with an acerbic, self-mocking humour. This seemed, if anything, to exemplify a careful balancing act at play, with ‘BC Camplight’ and Brian Christinzio being both one and the same, yet also a character and its actor.
“I started BC Camp Light when I was 23 and that was over 20 years ago, so my association with that name in some ways is almost indistinguishable from my own at this point… But sometimes I do struggle with finding that line between who am I? I mean, let’s face it, like, BC Camp Light is a huge part of my life and it’s a big part of how people view me and see me.” Beginning to laugh a little, he went on: “And I worry about that sometimes. It even creeps into relationships. And when I’m seeing someone who likes my music and I start thinking, well, do you like Brian? Or BC?”
“I guess as long as the records keep turning out well, I’ll deal with that struggle, and I guess it all come out in the records eventually as well, I imagine… Yeah, it all comes out in the wash.”
With the music of BC Camplight, it certainly does all come out in the wash – how Christinzio processed his father’s death on the album Shortly After Takeoff being a fantastic example. It appears Christinzio’s current, work-in-progress will potentially even go beyond this. “I should mention too that this is my first sober record that I’ve ever made. It’s been quite challenging. When I say sober, I mean essentially I don’t take drugs anymore… I’ve just been really lucid through this whole record… I’m not lubricating myself against the world that I’m excited to see how it sounds in the end with the album.”
Christinzio was extremely open both about his own mental health issues, but also how he wanted to express them, in all their nuanced details. “I get really bored listening to songs that are kind of… when it’s really dark emotional stuff, it’s kind of overwrought… It almost ends up sounding fake… When you’re going through a really tough time or you’re missing somebody, you’re still a human being that’s capable of humour and the complex feelings.”
His aim is to bring the listener along for the ride – to allow them insight into every little confused detail. “I think that a big thing for me is I’ve always been quite confused by music. I understand why other artists can’t have such like a wide palette of emotions in their songs because it is limiting and it’s challenging to the listener. You’re kind of essentially asking to lose a lot of listeners when you write songs like me because they do require a certain level of like, okay, this isn’t just a sad song or this isn’t just a rock song.”
One of Christinzio’s most distinguishing features as an artist is his strange position as an American songwriter living in Manchester. His music at every step has absorbed the city, with lyrical references to the Curry Mile or towns in Greater Manchester. His is fundamentally a unique perspective on Mancunian culture, drawing the smallest of details into his songs. “I think that my song-writing turned in a positive way, when I started doing that more [including specific references to place], when I stopped being so macro about everything. Because I think enough people do that. Singing big themes in these broad strokes. I’ve been finding it more interesting to talk about really specific, kind of sometimes mundane things and allow the listener to draw their own emotions and their own memories from those things.”
“I do enjoy the novelty. I still like being the novel American… Not that saying that at the moment, being an American is anything to be overly proud of.”
Christinzio’s relationship with the city is not entirely straightforward however, and potentially reflects the elephant in the room – how exclusionary British society can be at the best of times. “I’m super grateful for Manchester and everything it’s done for me, and I feel proud to be able to represent Manchester, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t still feel a bit like an alien from time to time.”
Being alien in his environment seems to have been a recurrent feature of Christinzio’s career. ‘I’ve never been in a music scene. I see it as a kind of double-edged sword… Me being so isolated as a person and as an artist has allowed me to kind of exist in my own world. Sometimes I kind of drift in and out of public favour, but I’m never trying to sound like my neighbour.”
This artistic conviction is what makes the music of BC Camplight an utter necessity in an era where the majority of ‘alternative’ bands look eagerly to one another for references and direction. With the fizzling out of the ‘post-punk revival’, we may well see Christinzio’s work swing back round into ‘public favour’, but whether this happens or not, BC Camplight will continue to attract his cult following. His is a thoroughly individual voice, raw and honest, something you can only respect.
If you are interested in catching BC Camplight on his upcoming solo piano tour, tickets are available here.
