There was a time when Brontë Horder would just keep showing up and playing at a venue until they eventually paid her.
As soon as she got her driver’s license as a 17-year-old she was off chasing her dream, playing gigs all over Sydney including residencies at bars and restaurants like The Sydney Dance Company Lounge and Rydges Hotel while studying.
That dedication to her passion is starting to pay off, working with well-known producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) recently before moving to Los Angeles and releasing her first single, The Eleventh Hour.
Horder has just signed a publishing deal with Opus 1 Music with a music video to accompany the single also on the way.
But things could have gone so differently for the 24-year-old, originally from Mortdale Heights.
Horder finished a Bachelor of Media and Communications degree at the University of Sydney last year and was offered a job in advertising. Instead of taking it, she decided to chase her dream.
Two months busking in New York subways and jamming with musos led to a chance encounter with another musician she had connected with in Sydney. From there she was put in touch with a producer, Blue, a music industry veteran who has discovered and produced albums for the likes of Caillat, Mraz and One Republic.
Blue listened to the pop singer-songwriter’s music and agreed to meet her. She booked a flight to LA straight away.
“Mikal has been a huge support. Without him, none of this would’ve happened,” Horder told the Leader from LA.
“I recorded three of my songs in Mikal’s studio in LA, Revolver Recordings, including my first single. Mikal told me if I wanted to make music my full time job I would have to move to LA so I did. I packed up my life and moved to LA.
“Since then I’ve been writing and recording my own music as well as collaborating with other songwriters to write music for other artists and film and TV.”
Horder plans on staying in the US to pursue her career. And why wouldn’t she, her first single is available on iTunes and things are falling into place.
But there was a time where things weren’t moving so smoothly, leading to frustration and doubt.
“I wrote [The Eleventh Hour] in late 2013 after I won the Sony [Breaking Ground] competition,” she said.
“Everything was taking a lot longer than expected and record label executives were living up to their stereotype. I wrote the song about my music career but I think anyone can relate to it – that frustration of waiting for someone to make a decision about something critical to your happiness.”
