Tulsa entertainer and activist Branjae shouldn't be 'Too Much' for Norman Music Festival

With her funky new dance anthem "Too Much," Branjae croons a relatable chorus that could become a credo for many people, especially women: "If you think I'm too much, maybe go find less."

"I'm outspoken. I have opinions. I'm a lover, I'm a fighter, I'm all of those things," she said. "I'm not going to tone down. ... If your vibration is not matching with my vibration, and I make you feel bad or intimidated or something negative or something that you feel like you need to shut me down, well, maybe you should go find what works with your vibration."

The Tulsa singer-songwriter, entertainer and activist is hoping for all good vibrations when she makes her Norman Music Festival debut.

When and where is this year's Norman Music Festival?

Billed as Oklahoma's largest music festival, Norman Music Festival annually brings hundreds of acts and about 100,000 music fans to Norman for three days of live music. The free, nonprofit, independent festival returns for the 14th time in 16 years April 25-27 to the Walker Arts District in downtown Norman.

This year's NMF will feature live music on four outdoor stages — the Main Stage will be set up at the corner of Main and Porter — with local bars, restaurants and other businesses supplying a dozen indoor stages.

Festival hours are 6 p.m. to midnight April 25-26 and 11 a.m. to midnight April 27, with live music continuing until 2 a.m. all three nights on some of the indoor stages.

This year's festival headliners include Alvvays, Moor Mother, Tropa Magica and Radkey, along with Oklahoma acts like Husbands, Jared Deck, Cliffdiver, Ken Pomeroy, Steph Simon and Beau Jennings & The Tigers. In her first Norman Music Festival performance, Branjae will close out the West Stage with her 11 p.m. set on Saturday, April 27.

"I'm super excited. It's been a long time coming. We've been trying to work this out for two, maybe three years. ... I'm a little bit nervous, as I should be, because if you're not nervous, we're not doing it big enough," she said.

How does Branjae hope to use her songs to inspire others?

A self-described BAM, or Black American Music, artist, Branjae recently talked with The Oklahoman about her new EP “Intravibronic," the short film-style music video for "Too Much" and her hopes that her electro-funk, synth-pop songs can inspire listeners:

Q: What was the inspiration for your new EP?

I wanted to do something fun. I wanted something that was upbeat, that encouraged people, that inspired people, that made people feel confident about themselves, because we'd just come out of a really hard place the last three, four, five years. It's just been really heavy.

I was going through a really hard time ... where life was just falling apart for me: I lost my mom, lost my dog. ... I just wanted to feel better. I understand to manifest things, you have to know what you want. So, I really got into my mindset of how I would like to feel empowered, I would like to feel inspired. I would like to feel grounded and know who I am again and find a vision and celebrate evolution and change within myself.

I wrote the record out of that, and I was actually really depressed. ... But that was the point, so that later on, when that thing was done, I could listen back to it and it bring me inspiration. So, I just hope that it does that for other people.

Q: What insight can you give into the title 'Intravibronic?'

'Intravibronic' is a word that I made up, and it means to be internally in control and aware of your vibration, regardless of what's going on around you. ...

It comes with a lyric book that I developed that has photography in it from Laura Webster — she's great at film photography — and then it also has definitions to every song: what every song is about, how it was inspired, what it means. Then, at the very end, it comes with a group of meditations or mantras that are to be spoken through the week, and each one has something to do with each track.

Q: How was the retro skating rink concept for the 'Too Much' video to work on?

I was the first AD (assistant director) on the shoot, and Bobby Ross directed it. ... I was selling the story to Bobby, because he's got to get the feel and the mood behind what I'm trying to lay on screen. And he really didn't all the way get it until the day of shooting ... because I kept telling him like, 'No, we need that shot where she lifts up the camera.' The camera is like her imagination; it's how she sees herself in her highest expression of herself. So, it's like a magic camera, so whenever she points it and looks at somebody, it just pulls them into this imaginary world where they get to be their highest selves and expression. And he's like, 'Oh my God, I got it. I got it.' ... I loved it. The ending was my favorite part. ...

It just got announced that it got into (Oklahoma City's) deadCenter Film Festival ... so I'm super excited about that.

Q: Did you have to practice your big fall in the video?

Charla (Fonseca, Branjae's manager) was stressing. Every time we did a cut, here she'd come, manager walk, 'Are you OK?' I'm like, 'I'm good.' But she wanted me to practice that fall. ... But for me and my logic, I was like, 'The more I practice and fall, the higher chance is that I'm going to get hurt. So, I feel more comfortable just showing up and doing the fall.'

So, there was no practice. I just practiced getting used to being on skates again, because I used to be a really good skater, then I hadn't skated in, man, probably more than 10 years. ... When we got there, I put the skates on, and it was just like riding a bike, it came back.

Q: With every music project you seem to get more into film; how do the two art forms work together for you?

I've always wanted to be in front of a camera; since I was little, I've been front of the camera or on a theater stage. ... It's just a flow, I think: with music is film and with film is music. How many films do you watch that don't have music incorporated? They just go hand in hand. So, I have really fallen more and more in love with the visual aspects of things. And now we're living in this digital world where everything is visual, where everyone wants to see it, which actually, in my opinion, makes the music sound better. ...

Though I love a music video, I love even more a short film, because it really opens up the storytelling aspects even further.

Q: How will your love of film affect your next music project?

My next project, 'Master of Ceremonies,' that I'm working on in the back end — we've got the music recorded, it's mixed, it's being mastered right now — I'm still writing the stories. But it's going to be a seven-part short film series that goes with the music, and then I'll release the music as a soundtrack to the film. So, it's a doozy. It's a project that I'm just chipping at a little bit every day, getting through it and writing it.

But yes, it's something to talk about, which is mental health. I've really been on this mental health kick ... talking about my story and upbringing and losing my mom and how it affects creativity and how we manage — and just really erasing that stigma. ... I hope that it encourages and inspires people to continue to work towards their mental health.

Norman Music Festival

• When: April 25-27.

• Where: Walker Arts District, downtown Norman.

• Information: https://normanmusicfestival.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Tulsa singer gets out of a funk with electro-funk EP 'Intravibronic'