‘Phase’ is all about not being stuck, complacent, predictable and boring. So many people pursue their dreams and plan to reach their goals but not as many people actually achieve the level of success that they plan to, so they use a comfortable and stable environment as a coping mechanism for being ‘left behind’ by their peers. Growing up in an area where change is uncommon, and the 9 till 5 routine is the norm made me determined to get out of that way of living because having a creative ambition was rare and didn’t make sense.
Royal Academy of Music graduate, Courtney ‘Neeyz’ Brown was born in the West Midlands in the early 90’s. As a child, he was rendered partially deaf due to inner ear eczema. This affliction however, only served as a spur for him and his religious family and by 8 years old he had started playing the trombone.
It was in the church that his musical foundation was laid and through the local performing arts department where he had his first taste of classical music but by 14 years he started exploring and expressing some of his cultural influences, playing with different genres/contemporary music which led him to music production - totally in step with DIY culture and the explosion of the internet. The combination of the two creative outputs, classical and contemporary, kept music fresh for Courtney and helped drive him to dedicate all his spare time to practicing his crafts and led to him joining the CBSO Youth Orchestra.
The word ‘dedication’ is crucial in understanding who he is and the life he has chosen because he truly ‘lives the life he loves’ - which is music. It is this drive that got him noticed and accepted at the Royal Academy of Music to study classical music with renowned Bass Trombonist Robert Hughes. Nurtured under the ethos of The Royal Academy by Robert Hughes, Courtney was able to learn from the past but given space to develop his own voice and out of the ‘Manson Room’ studio at the academy NBOC sound was formed and the assimilation of a diverse range of musical influences that include The Neptunes, Busta Rhymes, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Commissioned, Wolfgang Gartner, Mahler, Shostakovich. Neeyz’s musical journey begins and possibilities are endless so watch this
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