Brika

Briana Alexa Martinez[1] (born November 22), commonly known by her stage name Brika, is an American singer and songwriter.[2] She currently releases music under independent record label Art House Records.[3] On February 23, 2015, Brika was included as one of New Music Seminar's 'Artist on the Verge' by "a hand-selected A&R committee comprised of NMS partners, talent scouts, buyers, booking agents, taste-makers and other industry experts", as reported by Billboard.[4] Brika's music has circulated Annie Mac's Musical Hot Water Bottle program on BBC Radio 1.[5][6]

Brika
Birth nameBriana Alexa Martinez
BornNovember 22
Miami, Florida
OriginUnited States
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, Songwriter, Musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, Keyboard, Piano
Years active2013–present
Websitebrikamusic.com

Early life and career

Brika was born November 22 in Miami and is of Cuban descent.[2] She is the second oldest of two sisters and a brother.[7] Brika was intrigued with music since she was an infant, which eventually led to teaching herself how to play the piano and write her own songs.[8]

She met music producer Julio Reyes Copello in 2011 and signed with his independent record label in 2013.[7]

Her critically acclaimed record, Expectations, is considered to be her "breakout single" [7] and was listed on the blog aggregator, Hype Machine's Zeitgeist Most Blogged and Favorited Tracks' with over 5 million streams on Spotify.[9]

Her debut album, Voice Memos, circulated through college radio stations around North America and was listed on HillyDilly's Top 25 Debuts.[10][11][12][13] The album had an exclusive premiere on Hype Machine a week before its official release,[14] after climbing to the top of its 'Most Popular' Chart several times throughout the year.[15][16] Notable blog Indie Shuffle listed Brika as an "Artist To Watch in 2015".[17]

Brika took part in a performance with electronic artist Gryffin at Ultra Music Festival in 2015.[18] More recently, Brika also performed with Kygo during the winter XGames 2016 live on ESPN (United States) Nationwide. Miami New Times wrote articles referring to her as "Miami Music's Next Big Thing" and "Ten Can't-Miss Local Acts of III Points 2016". The Miami New Times highlighted: "Her voice has an old-school quality that's rich with nuance and subtlety, rare these days."[19][20]

NYLON placed Brika in their list of "7 Up-And-Coming Female Artists You Should Know About".[21] She took part in Red Bull's esteemed SoundSelect festival alongside up-and-coming artist Goldlink.[22] Brika was featured on Live Nation's One's To Watch alongside LANY, Léon, and many other artists.[23]

Artistry

Her sonic identity has been characterized as “alt-soul... simplistic yet powerful in nature”[24] with a vocally "sultry tone".[25] Brika has expressed that she draws inspiration from “bits and pieces of everything, even visuals”. Journalist Brianne Nemiroff, of Viva Glam Magazine, has compared her sound to Billie Holiday and Banks.[26] Brika states her “greatest inspiration is being in the middle of action”.[7]

Discography

Albums

Voice Memos Deluxe

  • Released: December 16, 2017
  • Singles: "Expectations"

References
  1. "BLINDED". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  2. ASCAP Latin On The Spot, June 10, 2014
  3. iTunes Official Release Archived April 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  4. New Music Seminar 'Artist On the Verge' Class of 2015 Billboard, Billboard Staff, February 23, 2015
  5. Annie Mac's Musical Hot Water Bottle, August 17, 2014
  6. Annie Mac's Musical Hot Water Bottle, October 26, 2014
  7. LADYGUNN Magazine Interview, Olivia Inkster, April 2, 2015
  8. BreaktThru Radio Interview, Jess Goulart, Feb 27, 2015
  9. Ziegeist 2014 List
  10. "KZUU Station Playlist Cookies After Dark With DJ Super Star". Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  11. 88Nine Radio Milwaukee
  12. Air Toronto Archived April 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  13. HillyDilly Top 25 Debuts Archived August 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine,
  14. Hype Machine Exclusive Premiere, December 2014
  15. Hype Machine Chart, May 2014
  16. Hype Machine Chart, July 2014
  17. Indieshuffle Artist To Watch List, Dec 22, 2014
  18. Billboard Coverage Ultra Music Festival Brika/Kygo,
  19. Rolland, David (2016-02-05). "Westchester Native Brika Could Be Miami Music's Next Big Thing". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  20. Duran, Jose D. (2016-10-04). "Ten Can't-Miss Local Acts of III Points 2016". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  21. "7 Up-And-Coming Female Artists You Should Know About". Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  22. Duran, Jose D. (2017-01-31). "Red Bull Sound Select's 3 Days in Miami Returns With Angel Olsen, Goldlink, and Kelela". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  23. "Ones To Watch Presents: All Eyes On Brika [Interview + Live Performance] / Ones To Watch". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  24. The Music Ninja Blog,
  25. HillyDilly Review Archived 2017-08-31 at the Wayback Machine, Taylor Rummel, September 2014
  26. Viva Glam Magazine Archived 2017-08-30 at the Wayback Machine, Brianne Nemiroff, April 1, 2015
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