First name Brook, last name D’Leau.
A “brook” is a small stream of water. “De l’eau” is French meaning “from the water”.
Maybe it’s his name that gives him the power to tap into the “serene, liquid vibe” Brook D’Leau channels into his music. One-half of the Los Angeles-based musical duo J*DaVeY.
Libra male. Producer. One of the most confident nonconformists you could ever meet. On stage he bobs his head to the beat with an aviator cap on, while Miss Jack Davey sings with the passion of a five-alarm blaze. The first time I met Brook at a studio in 2008 when they finished the first final draft of their album New Designer Drug.
I remember laughing hysterically within minutes of meeting him. Somehow the topic of conversation was constipation.
Not only were his jokes hilarious, but I had to laugh even harder because here was a man who’s music I admired talking about,
“You know when your intestines feel like a balled up fist and you’re like, uuughhh!”
Since then, I have done various interviews and candid conversations with Brook. All you have to do is ask him a question and let him rip. Brook is also one of the most honest people you could ever meet. One gets the sense from him that to not tell you the truth would be considered disrespectful (see “constipation” above).
At the core is a man who thinks deeply and sees things that others would be afraid to admit.
The only way you can capture the vastness of Brook’s personality is to pay attention to his words.
If he could be any animal…
A liger because I haven’t seen one yet in real life. It sounds exotic right? It sounds mysterious. You don’t know what that animal is capable of.
If music were a woman…
The musical fantasy is definitely a roller coaster. For me, there’s movements within the one song, so it’s not just one beat. It changes. It evokes a handful of emotions as opposed to just one. You don’t really know what to expect, but you like every turn and you like every curve.
On masculinity and what it means to be a man…
I’ve never been a super machismo dude, even when I was younger. You always get comments like “Is he gay? Or is he this? Or is he that?” No. I love women. Just because you’re not like the aggressive male doesn’t mean that it’s not masculine. There’s a wide spectrum of masculinity. The refined portion of that spectrum, it’s definitely not one of the first things that come to mind. I pay attention to detail. I think it’s all in the subtleties and nuances. I think from my mom, shes always been a great dresser and a person who pays attention to detail. Being a man is just being comfortable in your own skin, and being unafraid of opinion. Confidence really. You’re a stand up human being, period. The presence. The values. The morals. You can tell a real man from a fake man just by having a conversation with somebody. It’s rarely what you see. It comes from how you were raised. Your value system.
On New Designer Drug…
When you have a kid, and your kid gets old enough to talk back to you, and walk, and leave, and go in the other room, and come back…you have to separate yourself from it. When you baby something so much you have to let it have legs on it’s own and do what it does. Right now, we just want it to be presented properly. So to suffocate it and try to make it some kind of perfect element is not going to help the situation. Right now what Miss Jack and I are both doing is occupying ourselves with more things. There’s so many things that we both do. We’re busying ourselves with other interests while this one project manifests and becomes what we imagine it being. But it takes time. But if we focus on it too much, like watching a pot of water boil, it takes forever. I know it’s going to be a positive impact, that’s why I’m confident not having such a close eye on it because we’ve done that for the last three or four years.
Making music with a woman…
I like to think I’m in tune with my own feminine side, but it’s also emphasized more because I’m working with a very sensual female. But there’s always a kind of serene, liquid vibe I always tap into. It’s very easy to tap into with her. We’ve done songs that aren’t that at all. But even still it comes out a lot more because I’m collaborating with Jack, who I would consider a highly, hyper-sensual artist. If it were just me it would be a lot more schizophrenic. I have wild, outlandish ideas and thoughts, and my musical taste exemplifies that as well. I like to keep things unconventional.
On being a Libra…
I think my sense of humor is really dark and quirky. It sounds weird saying “I don’t take life that seriously”, but I don’t. I’m here to indulge and enjoy everything, and not to worry or concern myself with death, or criticism, or any of the negative sides of it. I think if people are more open to any wild thoughts they have they would feel more comfortable in their own skin. Everybody has those thoughts but people are very afraid of expressing those things or saying “Yeah I agree with this.” People have a hard time accepting that we’re human and we don’t control these thoughts. Being a Libra, I think we plan too much. You’re trying to weigh out the pros and cons. What I’m attempting to do is not be that. It’s trying to counter what my sign is supposedly known for.
On how Los Angeles has changed in his eyes over the years…
I’ve changed along with it, but I definitely have seen…I don’t know if people are more jaded now, or…I don’t know. Being in L.A. gives you a warped sense of what reality is in general. But, in me being involved in whatever scene, I think there are a lot more cliches happening right now.
At the same time, there’s always been a constant to me, especially musically. There’s always been this psychedelic, weird electronic thing. For me that’s been happening for the last 10 years. It’s hard to say because a lot of people are imported here, so it’s always changing.
A lot of people come and perpetuate what they think L.A. is. It’s hard to give a very accurate opinion. As I’m getting older I’m spending a lot more time doing what I do, and trying to be an authentic representation of what I am being in Los Angeles. I think maybe I’ve been jaded by it a lot.
“I want to see more of the actual culture that exists out here being embraced instead of the perpetuated ideal of what Los Angeles is supposed to be which is…really pieced together by people who aren’t from here.” – Brook D’Leau
On a Higher Power…
Some people call it God, some people call it inspiration. Life itself is a huge influence on our words, thoughts, expression…There is a higher power. There is something bigger than me. I don’t like to take credit for where all this stuff comes from because there’s times when I’m in the studio and I can’t get an idea out for some reason. I don’t know what it is. So I guess I move on do something else. I go watch a movie. I try to draw. I go jack off. I don’t fucking know! Whatever! I just have to be ready for the inspiration and be ready to channel those things when they arrive. As far as the name for it, or what it’s called, or where it’s coming from? Man. I have no idea.
On the photoshoot…
That was like my dream that just happened! When the creative director told me “You’re going to have lipstick on you like someone’s been kissing you.” I’ve never had that before. An actual woman applying the lipstick and then putting it on me. I had hands on me. I was being fed blueberries in a silk robe by beautiful women. And I…man that was…Thank you! Thank you, New Culture Society. Man…I’m still living the dream right now!
MORE: PHOTO SPREAD | BEHIND THE SCENES
Interview by Merc80. Photography by Stylehouse. Direction by Ronnia for Wakeupstar.
Styling by Seth Brundle. Makeup by Amanda B. Produced in Downtown Los Angeles, California.
Love Brook!