David Arthur Brown (singer)

David Arthur Brown is an American musician and the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for the US band Brazzaville.

David Arthur Brown was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 19, 1967. He was a runaway who later became obsessed with low budget travel and poetry. He traveled through Asia, South America and Europe for many years. Along the way he learned to play the saxophone. He played sax with Beck from 1997 through 2000. During that time he learned how to play the guitar and began writing songs and singing.

He lives in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona, with his wife and two young children.

He is best described as a "self-taught human being."

Brown formed Brazzaville in Los Angeles, in late 1997. One day he was reading a story in the L.A. Times about the civil war in Congo. The dateline of the story read BRAZZAVILLE Reuters. The word jumped out at him and he knew he had found the name for the new band. It was only later that he discovered what an amazing man, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, the man the city had been named after, had been.

Brazzaville’s early years (1997–2003) were spent largely in Los Angeles. They recorded and released 3 full length albums during that time and played countless shows in L.A. With the exception of two East Coast Tours in 2002, they did little touring due to Brown being on the road with Beck. Brown and Beck were friends from the East Hollywood coffeehouse scene of the late 80s/early 90s.

Brazzaville’s first 2 albums, 2002 and Somnambulista, were produced by Michael Rozon at the S.S. Clove Factory in North Hollywood. They featured musicians such as Smokey Hormel (Beck, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Smokey and Miho), Danny Frankel (Lou Reed, Fiona Apple, K.D. Lang), David Ralicke (Dengue Fever, Beck), Kenny Lyon (David Baerwald, Lemonheads), Joel Virgel-Vierset (Nina Hagen), Joe Zimmerman and many others. Their third album, Rouge On Pockmarked Cheeks featured production work by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck, Travis, Sir Paul M.) and Tony Hoffer (Air, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, Supergrass, Grandaddy) as well as Michael Rozon.

In 2003 Brown moved to Barcelona, where he formed his European version of the band. Brazzaville’s fourth studio album, Hastings Street (2004), was recorded in both Los Angeles and Barcelona and was mixed in Los Angeles. It featured musicians like Victor Indrizzo (Willie Nelson, Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Gahan), Greg Kirstin (Beck, Action Figure Party), Erica Garcia, Joe Zimmerman, Mike Bolger, Kenny Lyon, David Ralicke and many others.

November 2003 marked the first time Brazzaville was invited to play in Russia. They played 2 shows, the first in Moscow at B2 and the second in St. Petersburg at Red Club. Brazzaville was invited by the great critic and writer, Artemy Troitsky. Artemy had found a used Brazzaville CD at Rough Trade Records in London in the year 2000. He began to play it on his radio show in Moscow and wrote several reviews about the band, essentially creating the beginnings of what would become Brazzaville's largest fan base.

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