“I feel like I’m looking a little bit more outward now,” confesses Brian Christinzio, aka BC Camplight. And with good reason.
A Sober Conversation – his fifth album for Bella Union in a decade, his seventh overall, and first major release written and produced while sober – has been universally acclaimed, praised not just for Brian’s songwriting chops and musicianship, but also its subject matter. Right from the opening track, The Tent, it’s a collection that challenges the listener, mining an intense period from the Manchester-based/ American-born musician’s childhood.
“It’s a bit of a darker record,” declares Brian, who has previously explored the loss of his father, relationship breakdowns and his own struggles with mental health, knowing full well that the statement is something of an understatement. “I knew that it would not exactly be a radio pluggers’ dream having to say, ‘Hey, guys! Play this record about this kid getting abused in a tent!’ But it’s more important to me to just be honest with myself, so when I’m an old man, I can look back and be proud of all the things I’ve done.”
Of course, turning the experience of how an adult counsellor had abused him at summer camp into song has been a difficult journey for Brian, and it’s too soon to say what impact that will have on him (“I’m not a big believer in cathartic experiences,” he simply states). However, there does appear to be some positive results, at least in the short term, as he considers that more outward-looking approach to life, and also how bringing his own experience into the public sphere has allowed others to address their own childhood trauma.
“I’ve obviously done a lot of soul searching and a lot of looking back into this traumatic past, and because of the kind of severe nature of it, I’m getting so many messages from people about how much it’s helped them. And you know, people for some reason think I’m a doctor or something, and they ask me for advice! That’s really touched me. Where this record that started off as this exercise in isolation has, as modestly as I could say, brought people together, and has connected with this kind of community of people that may have needed a nudge to start dealing with their own paths and things …”
The extraordinary A Sober Conversation – brave, bold, yet not without wit – comes in the wake of Brian’s solo Seasonal Affective Disorder tour, which saw the now dry 40-something songwriter perform choice tracks from his increasingly rewarding, musically textured and beautifully arranged catalogue in a stripped back form.
“One thing that is a common theme after my solo shows is people coming up to me going ‘We didn’t think you’d be able to play that song, and oh my God! I like it better!’,” Brian smiles. “I’m a little bit of a madman when I’m behind the piano on my own. So whatever kind of orchestration arrangements that can’t be replaced, I usually substitute with raw emotion, or just going a little bit wild on the piano.”
While most are familiar with the well-produced recorded versions of I Only Drink When I’m Drunk, I Want To Be In The Mafia and The Last Rotation of Earth – tracks filled with percussive touches, synth effects, and tightly orchestrated segments – as the writer is quick to remind us, that is not how they began life.
“A lot of these songs, they started off this way. I have to take them from the piano and turn them into these kind of orchestrations. So it’s just going back to square one.”
Moving on from those intimate smaller solo performances, it’s “the full shebang” six piece version of BC Camplight that Brian is taking on the road for the autumn tour and festivals, including Birmingham’s Moseley Folk and Arts Festival (29-31 Aug 2025), where he’ll be joining fellow Bella Union labelmate Father John Misty and The Waterboys.
“When I do my music, I never want to do it halfway,” he says of the choice between playing solo or as part of a six-piece. “So I either want to have it stripped down to the songs and it be just me, or I want to be able to represent the record.
“A lot of times throughout my career I’ve refused to do European tours because we’re not as popular in Europe, so the budgets are lower, and then the promoters are saying, ‘Well, can you just do it with the drummer and the bassist?’” he continues. “I can. But I’d rather do it solo because it’s almost like you’re teasing people at that point, for me, because I’d rather say, ‘OK, these are the songs on the piano’ or, ‘Hey! Strap yourselves in. This is the full shebang!’
“I think a six piece is as small as I’d be able to represent all of the elements on the record,” he adds, before outlining how his current line-up is handling string parts, saxophone, guitar solos … “I just don’t like doing anything halfway.”
As he enthuses about how much he relishes performing live, including working with the band and engaging with the audience, KLOF wonders if he’d ever consider a live album.
“I feel like you’re reading my mind here”, Brian laughs.
“There has been a lot of talk about that. We did a Maida Vale session [a few] weeks ago [for Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 Music] and everyone said they thought we should release what we recorded,” he continues, explaining they have looked into how that might work.
“But I’ve been hearing that for years, about how we should be documenting the live band, and it’s starting to get really tempting. There is a shocking lack of documented evidence that I’ve ever existed as a live performer, which is weird because I’m doing like 60-70 shows a year, and the only live footage is more or less what people have done on their cell phones.
“So I guess before I get over the hill, I should capture these moments.”
• Moseley Folk and Arts Festival runs from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 August 2025, in Birmingham. Guests include The Waterboys, This Is The Kit, Father John Misty, BC Camplight, Lisa O’Neill, Ye Vagabonds, Yoshika Colwell, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Cerys Hafana, DUG, Fisherman’s Friends and Grace Petrie. For more details, see: moseleyfolk.co.uk
Upcoming BC Camplight UK/Ireland Tour Dates
October 30, 2025: Electric Bristol, Bristol
November 5, 2025: Roundhouse, London
November 8, 2025: Southampton 1865, Southampton
November 12, 2025: Boiler Shop, Newcastle upon Tyne
November 14, 2025: O2 Apollo Manchester, Manchester
November 16, 2025: Rock City, Nottingham
November 18, 2025: The Button Factory, Dublin, Ireland
November 20, 2025: Roisin Dubh, Galway, Ireland
November 21, 2025: Kasbah Social Club, Limerick, Ireland