Image Credit: Bret Curry
With the release of his poignant new single ‘Know This’ featuring his sister Miley Cyrus, Nashville-based songwriter and producer Braison Cyrus opens a compelling new chapter, defined by emotional clarity, Southern texture, and a growing sense of self-assuredness. The track, which marks the siblings’ first-ever musical collaboration, pairs Braison’s warm, roots-driven sound with Miley’s husky, larger-than-life mezzo-soprano, creating a slow-burning ballad that oozes with intimacy and timelessness. A skilled lyricist praised by American Songwriter as “a storyteller of epic proportions,” Braison first made waves with his 2021 debut album Javelina, earning acclaim for its mix of narrative-rich folk and psychedelic undertones. Following writing and production credits for artists like Noah Cyrus and Fleet Foxes, and a string of critically noted singles earlier this year, ‘Know This’ arrives as both a treasure trove of Cyrus idiosyncrasy and a showcase of Braison’s power as an individual.
Listen to the track while you read our exclusive interview with Braison below:
Hello Braison, thanks for chatting with us here at PLAYY.! We are honoured to have you here.
You originally wrote ‘Know This’ with Jordan Lindley in just an hour. Do you find your best songs come quickly like that, or was this one an exception?
It depends, one of the songs I’m the most proud of I wrote over the course of a week. Sometimes I go back to scrutinize the lyrics quite a bit but ‘Know This’ was just burst and it was done.
The song has a rootsy, nostalgic folk feel that leans into your Southern heritage. How much does growing up in Nashville still influence your sound today?
I think the most formative years of what I like musically happened while I was in LA growing up but the influence Nashville has on me is the people I know and the players who make it what it is.
When you and Ryan Rasmussen decided the song needed a female voice, what made you hear Miley’s voice in particular? Was there a specific line or emotion you imagined her singing?
Ryan and I both kinda got hit with the idea at the same time. I think we both knew that the power her voice brings was what the song needed.
American Songwriter called you “a storyteller of epic proportions.” How do you approach storytelling in music differently than when you’re just writing for yourself or producing for others?
I don’t usually focus on a story in a song when it starts but I ask myself what the story is once I get halfway through or if there even is one.
Your last album, Javelina, had a psychedelic folk vibe, while ‘Know This’ feels warmer and more organic. What inspired the shift in your sound for this new era?
I think I’ve learned a lot from what I like and don’t like about my first record. I think I made an album hyper focused on my vision and what I wanted to hear and didn’t think about what I wanted to give to an audience. I made this new album, including ‘Know This’, to try and connect with people in the audience in a way that I don’t think I have before. That’s what I set out to do when I put out my first single ‘I’ll Never Leave You’. I think it’s better and I think I’m happier and work better when I’m making music for others rather than myself.
This next album has been described as a “time capsule” of your personal reckoning and creative rebirth. What moments or themes from the last few years found their way most deeply into these songs?
I would boil down this next album to me analyzing my own relationships. As a socially withdrawn person, it’s hard to understand connections with people and I used this as a way to make sense of it.
You’ve worked with family before behind the scenes, but this is the first time your name and Miley’s are side by side on a single. How do you hope listeners see the sibling dynamic in the music itself?
I hope they think it’s fun and makes them happy. That’s all I really wanted for this song as it breaks the formula of the other songs on the new record.
Outside of music, what keeps you grounded when you’re not writing or recording? Any unexpected hobbies or rituals that balance out the creative intensity?
My family and friends are the most important things in my life and they keep me grounded and motivated at the same time. Unexpected hobbies: DND, Magic: The Gathering, Lord of the Rings, Pokemon, writing short stories and drawing.
Last one: if ‘Know This’ were a scene in a movie, what would it look like — and who’s directing it?
What ever David Lynch wanted to use the song for in a scene in one his films. RIP
Follow Braison Cyrus:
Spotify – Apple Music –YouTube – Instagram
