When IU junior Brett Hoffman started recording delicate dream-pop tunes on his tape machine at home, it was just something to do in his spare time. He said he had no intentions of releasing an album, creating a band or playing with some of the most successful Bloomington indie bands.
“I didn’t really think anyone would want to listen to my music,” Hoffman said. “Up until then it was just a hobby, you know? Something to do in my free time.”
The recordings Hoffman made in his free time became public last year when Circuit Public Broadcasting released “Bret’s Tape” in February. The eight-track cassette tape navigates through Hoffman’s thick pop hooks and gentle singing style. He says he draws most of his songwriting inspiration from pop music of the 1960s and 1970s.
“It’s mostly based around guitars, drums and bass, but then you also get things like strings and organs,” he said. “Just the grandness of it all is really cool, that’s the time when rock 'n' roll was super overindulgent.”
A native of Mooresville, Indiana, Hoffman started recording music in high school but didn’t start putting out music as his solo project name, Brownies in Cinema, until his freshman year of college.
After playing drums with his friend Duck Groves and the group Local Surfing, Hoffman started touring with the group alongside the successful Bloomington pop band Hoops. During his three years in Bloomington he’s played alongside other notable names, such as Whitney, Neon Indian and the group Spissy.
Last year, Hoffman played at WIUX’s annual music festival, Culture Shock, on the same stage where he saw Mac DeMarco perform two years prior.
When he started performing as Brownies in Cinema live last November, he needed to assemble a band quickly. Because the “Bret’s Tape” recordings are a solo project, Hoffman recruited his friends to help him bring his music to life on stage.
“In the recordings it’s all me, but it’s more fun getting to play with everyone else,” Hoffman said. “They bring their own skill sets to the songs, which makes it a lot cooler.”
As a do-it-yourself recorder, Hoffman recorded all his songs to a tape machine he bought a couple years back. With the help of some of his friends, he’s been able to explore how to personally record his music.
“It’s definitely been a learning process, and I’m still learning how to use it,” Hoffman said. “Digital recording may save a lot of time, but the software is so expensive, and I love my tape machine.”
Hoffman says his music has gone back to being more of a hobby and less of a project. While he doesn’t plan on releasing another tape anytime soon, he says he enjoys being able to play music with his friends and explore the diversity of the Bloomington music scene.
“The folks in the music scene in Bloomington are definitely a big help,” he said. “I’ll hear a great song that one of my friends has made, and it’s an inspiration to keep recording and keep up with the good music that’s being put out around here.”
