Brett Altman is making a giant leap in his musical evolution with “My Way Out”. The New Jersey artist’s output thus far has skewed more toward bluesy songwriters and guitarists like John Mayer, his wordplay delivered with a lilting alto this side of Jason Mraz. Now, he’s taking a page from the Harry Styles playbook with a slice of indelible, dance-driven pop. Stirred about by a hard-hitting breakup, Altman’s victorious post-relationship anthem is as bombastic and celebratory as this new step forward in his musical career.
Altman has married this artistic evolution with sweeping aesthetic changes, too. The meditative “Alone on a Saturday Night” crooner is the life of the party in dancey visuals that he has been sharing across social media to promote his new vibe. He tells PopMatters, “Going forward, you’re to see a lot less guitar from me on stage. I’ve been taking some beginner hip-hop dance classes and am ready to put on some epic shows in NYC this fall!”
He tells us about what spurred his new sound. “After the breakup, I stepped away from my music for six months. During that time, I challenged myself to think differently and try new things. I was searching for new songs that could lift me up, and I found dance music to be the best remedy. I began running more, dancing more, and laughing again, and it was all accompanied by this genre. When I finally felt ready to write again, I had no doubt this was the type of art I would create. I fully embraced a mindset of experimentation and am thrilled with the result.”
“Creating ‘My Way Out’ was like riding a high-speed train. It all happened so fast. Colin Rowe and I had been friends for years, but we never wrote my music together. Yet, within the first hour of our first session, we created ‘My Way Out’. I hadn’t written in six months prior due to the breakup, so I had a lot of pent-up energy. Plus, I had time to process my emotions and get some clarity on the situation. This combination made for the perfect storm. Colin played every instrument and developed a funky groove. The hip-hop-inspired second verse was the cherry on top right before finishing production (and, ultimately, my most vulnerable lyric). This song is the breakup anthem I leaned on whenever I regressed in my healing process last year. It proved to me I could be so much more than I thought I was.”
“All the songs off the [upcoming] My Way Out LP will be driven by pop and dance production. Making this music felt like both a rebirth but also a return to my roots. I grew up a major fan of top 40 radio and pop songs. I’m thankful Colin helped me channel something inside I had long left dormant. We stretched my comfort zone and said some things I originally wanted to hold back on. I’m proud of what we’ve made.”
Brett Altman’s” My Way Out” single drops this Friday, 28 July.