Brent Roberts
The Records That Shaped Me
The Records That Shaped Me
On influence, atmosphere, and the music that endures
People often ask about my musical influences. The truth is that I have never been drawn to a single genre. Instead, I have been inspired by artists who create complete worlds — records that reward patience, invite repeated listening, and linger in the imagination long after the music has ended.
Among the albums and artists that have most deeply shaped my musical vocabulary:
- The Blue Nile A Walk Across the Rooftops · Hats
- Kate Bush Hounds of Love
- Nick Drake Five Leaves Left
- OMD Architecture & Morality
- The Lover Speaks The Lover Speaks (not easy to find anymore)
- David Sylvian Gone to Earth
- Durutti Column The Guitar and Other Machines
- Everything But The Girl Idlewild · Love Not Money · Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
- Dead Can Dance Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
- This Mortal Coil Filigree & Shadow
- Cocteau Twins Blue Bell Knoll
- Propaganda A Secret Wish
- Depeche Mode Black Celebration · Speak and Spell
- The Smiths Hatful of Hollow · The Queen is Dead
- Chet Baker Chet Baker Sings
- Anne Clark Hopeless Cases
- Tracey Thorn A Distant Shore
Silence can be as expressive as sound. Places can become characters. Music has the power to slow time and change the way we experience the world.
Although these artists span different styles and eras, they share a common artistic spirit. Their music values atmosphere over spectacle, beauty over excess, emotional honesty over easy answers, and the quiet confidence to let a song unfold at its own pace.
My own songs are an attempt to continue that conversation in my own voice. Whether inspired by forgotten histories, changing seasons, literature, architecture, or the landscapes of Savannah and Provence, I hope they create spaces that listeners can return to over time — places where reflection quietly meets the beautiful and the true.