Downes Braide Association: Geoff Downes and Chris Braide on the Heart Behind Trauma
Having heard all six DBA albums, I already feel this is my favourite. It explores memory, loss and the things we carry through our lives, yet there is warmth running through it too. The songs acknowledge difficult experiences while offering the possibility of moving forward.
I welcomed Geoff Downes and Chris Braide back to the Now Spinning Magazine podcast to talk about the album’s emotional foundations, its remarkable guests and why melody remains at the centre of everything they do.
A title before there was a song
Chris recalled coming up with the title while standing in a garden in Los Angeles and speaking to the duo’s manager, Martin Darvill. At that point, there wasn’t even a song called “Trauma”.
The title emerged during a period when various traumatic things had happened, and it felt appropriate to what he was experiencing.
It is a powerful word, and perhaps an unexpected one for an album containing so much beautiful, melodic music. But as our conversation unfolded, it became clear that the record is concerned with how we live with those experiences, and how we might eventually loosen their hold.
Chris described reaching a stage in life when there is an opportunity to reconsider the identity shaped by family, school and institutions.
“It’s about shedding skin and actually becoming a person that you are comfortable being,” he explained.
That thought is central to my response to the title track. Its words suggest that our wounds and past experiences do not have to define everything about us. There is space within the song for listeners to recognise their own stories.
Geoff also pointed to the relationship between the emotional content and the music. Both writers enjoy darker chords and big minor harmonies, but those passages can open into an uplifting major chorus.
You can hear that movement in the album: the music gives the words somewhere to go.
An album shaped by this moment in their lives
Although the songs share themes, Geoff was careful to distinguish that connection from a conventional narrative running from beginning to end.
They came from the same period and have a common emotional ground. Chris put it particularly clearly:
“This album could only have been made now.”
For both musicians, the album remains an important creative form. Geoff spoke about conceiving a record as a whole, drawing on the albums they grew up loving.
That will resonate with many Now Spinning Magazine readers. There is something special about sitting down with an album, following its sequence and allowing the music to reveal itself over repeated listens.
Trauma rewards that attention. After around half a dozen plays, I was still discovering melodies, vocal details and little moments that had previously passed me by.
Marc Almond and the dark story behind “Juliet”
One of the most intriguing moments in our conversation concerned Marc Almond’s appearance on “Juliet”.
Chris had already recorded the lead vocal, and the song had been mixed. Initially, both writers felt it was ready for the album. But Chris kept returning to it, wondering whether it could become something more.
He sent it to Marc, who immediately responded enthusiastically and wanted to know what the song was about.
Chris explained that its inspiration came from a documentary about Juliet Hulme, later known as the novelist Anne Perry. That dark subject matter gave Marc a story whose drama he could inhabit.
“I think he elevated it hugely,” Chris said of Marc’s contribution.
Geoff highlighted the blend of Chris and Marc’s voices, observing that bringing two singers together can create something new. That combination gives “Juliet” an added character and intensity.
The melody makes it immediately inviting, while the story beneath it leaves you with plenty to think about.
Emmi and the two voices of “Love and Loss”
A different kind of vocal partnership emerged on “Love and Loss”.
Chris had been working with singer and songwriter Emmi on her own material in Los Angeles. The DBA song was almost finished, with Chris singing both the main vocal and the higher chorus part.
He began to feel that it needed two voices. Although it had not been written with that comparison in mind, it reminded him of the relationship between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush on “Don’t Give Up”.
Emmi was in the room, so he asked her to sing on it.
Her contribution gave the song the contrasting voice he had been looking for. It is another example of how the album’s collaborations developed through listening closely to what each song needed.
We also discussed “Wonderland” and its poignant video. Chris described the song as quite autobiographical, while recognising that its theme could apply to any young person beginning to find their way in life.
Remembering David Longdon
David Longdon’s flute playing brings a particularly moving connection to DBA’s past.
Chris and Geoff recalled his contributions to earlier albums and his appearances with them at their rare Trading Boundaries live shows. Working with David had become a friendly tradition: whenever they made an album, he would contribute something.
His death was a tremendous shock to them both.
Chris still had unused takes from earlier sessions, mainly for Skyscraper Souls. Those recordings allowed him to assemble a fresh flute part for the new album.
Geoff praised the production work involved, while Chris spoke about how meaningful it was to include David again and pay tribute to him.
It is a lovely gesture, preserving a musical friendship within the continuing life of the project.
Dave Bainbridge’s guitar: knowing what the song needs
Dave Bainbridge’s guitar playing is another of the album’s great strengths.
There are moments where his playing lifts the emotional intensity of a song to another level, yet it always feels connected to the music around it.
Geoff described him as an outstanding all-round musician, including a fantastic keyboard player. They also share a connection through Leeds Music College, where they studied with the same piano teacher at different times.
Chris explained that Dave received working versions of the songs, with vocals already present, and had room to respond creatively.
“I Wish I’d Known” offers a wonderful example. The song was almost finished, but its middle section needed something. They didn’t want more lyrics or a different chord sequence; the existing progression already had a hypnotic quality.
Chris asked Dave for a solo. When it came back, the missing piece was there.
“That’s one of the best moments on the album for me personally,” Chris said.
I agree. There is so much emotional power contained within that relatively short song, and the guitar takes it somewhere further.
The duo also revealed that they had made an extended mix approaching nine minutes. Chris said during the interview that it was intended for release later in the year, describing an arrangement with movements that makes the song feel like a new piece of music.
“Lake of Memories” and the freedom to let music unfold
The album’s long-form centrepiece, “Lake of Memories”, approaches fifteen minutes, but what strikes me is its sense of purpose.
The arrangements unfold naturally. The instruments serve the composition, and the emotion remains present throughout.
Geoff described it as a journey and spoke about the freedom DBA have to create an extended piece without someone insisting on a three-and-a-half-minute single.
Chris offered an interesting perspective on that approach. The old twelve-inch mixes were important to him because they could take a familiar song apart and rebuild its elements into different movements.
That idea helps explain DBA’s relationship with progressive music. They enjoy scale and development, while remaining deeply attached to the song’s melodic identity.
As Chris put it: “Ultimately Geoff and I are pop heads.”
“Melody for me is emotion”
One of the clearest statements in the interview came from Chris:
“Melody for me is emotion.”
Geoff spoke about songs whose melodies remain strong when everything is stripped back to a voice and an acoustic guitar or piano. For him, that is a fundamental part of the art of songwriting.
Those foundations are easy to hear on Trauma. The production is detailed, but the melodies have the strength to carry the songs themselves.
For me, the words add a further dimension. There will be listeners who recognise something of their own lives in these songs, and the clarity of the production allows every line to come through.
The voices have room to breathe. You can follow the meaning while still enjoying everything happening around them.
A young voice at the end of the journey
“Wherever You Are Now” includes narration by Delilah Barrett, whom Chris described as his goddaughter.
The words were written by Andy Partridge. Chris had initially wanted Andy to narrate those final lines himself, but Andy declined, saying he didn’t like his voice.
Delilah recorded them instead, fitting the session around school and the other demands of teenage life.
Chris found something especially moving in the sound of a young voice speaking words about experiences she had yet to encounter.
That is exactly how it struck me. Following the sweep of “Lake of Memories”, her voice creates a pause and draws us towards the album’s closing moments. It is a small contribution with a powerful emotional effect.
Roger Dean, the CD booklet and the physical album
Roger Dean’s artwork completes the experience beautifully.
Geoff spoke warmly about Roger’s involvement, explaining that he becomes immersed in the music and wants the sleeve to express what is inside.
Chris recalled Roger initially hearing the title Trauma and imagining something very heavy. Once he heard a working version of the song, he understood its psychological character and took the artwork in a different direction.
We also discussed a detail that collectors will appreciate: the CD booklet contains additional poetry that is absent from the vinyl edition.
Chris explained that they had tried a version featuring narration by Barney, but ultimately felt the songs spoke for themselves. Including his words in the booklet preserved that contribution while allowing the recorded music to stand as they wanted it.
The CD offers that extra reading experience; the gatefold double vinyl gives Roger Dean’s artwork room to shine. Geoff also welcomed the opportunity to read the lyrics at a comfortable size, and both musicians were enthusiastic about the sound of the vinyl test pressing.
For those of us who enjoy both formats, there is a lovely reason to explore each edition.
An album to spend time with
What stays with me most about Trauma is the way its beautiful music and searching lyrics work together.
It looks into difficult corners, but it also leaves room for hope, self-understanding and the possibility of change. There is enough openness in the writing for listeners to bring their own experiences to it.
Geoff and Chris have made an album that I want to keep returning to. The guest contributions deepen the songs, the production allows their meaning to emerge, and the melodies continue to reveal themselves.
My thanks to both of them for such a thoughtful and enjoyable conversation.
Phil
Trauma is available on CD and double vinyl through Cherry Red. Watch or listen to the full Now Spinning Magazine interview for more from Geoff Downes and Chris Braide.
