{"id":2444,"date":"2026-05-25T02:54:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/?p=2444"},"modified":"2026-05-30T09:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:16:16","slug":"a-love-supreme-with-dae-bryant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/archives\/2444","title":{"rendered":"A Love Supreme with Dae Bryant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Aine Fujioka<\/a> | May 25, 2026 | Music<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking to Dae<\/a> feels like rewiring my thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I met him through a random introduction from Todd Marston, the first interviewee of this series, in Berlin last year. From the very first moment, we fell straight into a deep conversation, and I loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He completed a Master’s in Jazz Studies and a Bachelor’s in Psychology, and is now a jazz program student in Basel, Switzerland. He is surrounded by incredible musicians\u2014big names in jazz\u2014receiving intensive coaching every other week, participating in group sessions, and performing regularly. From June, after the coaching term ends, they will go on the road until the end of the program year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he told me that his dream is to become a professor of philosophy, I was confused at first. I thought, wait\u2014do you mean teaching at an institution? How does that work?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I realized something important. He is someone who is creating his own way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, he may want the opportunity to teach in a classroom if that arises. But what he really means is that he wants to live his philosophy\u2014to experience it, experiment with it, and share it with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cTo me, there was always this other presence\u2014something I felt constantly. You could call it metaphysical, spiritual, whatever. But I remember one specific day very clearly. I was about 12. I walked into church, and the music had already started. I had to go up to the drums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before I even got there, I felt this physical energy around my body. And I was like\u2014whoa, we\u2019re all here together. The music was so powerful. The beat, the sound\u2014everything was happening at once. And it felt physical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the first time I ever felt music physically. And since then, I\u2019ve always searched for that kind of connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If I don\u2019t feel that, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not worth it\u2014but it feels disconnected from why I do music in the first place. Which is to reach that kind of pure connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAs I grew up and moved outside of religion, I realized that feeling still exists. It wasn\u2019t just about church\u2014it was just how I was introduced to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I was really feeling was connection. We were all connected. My grandma used to say, \u2018on one accord.\u2019 We were aligned in those moments. Fifty, sixty, seventy people\u2014locked into the same beat, at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThen later, when I got into jazz\u2014A Love Supreme<\/em>, Giant Steps<\/em>, Coltrane, Miles\u2014it was like, oh shit, there it is again. That same feeling I had in church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is beyond religion. This is a language. This is a transfer of information. This is spirit. This is continuity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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When he described the connection between philosophy and music, I immediately related to his lived experience. That is exactly what I have been searching for in music\u2014and how I practice both philosophy and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been following a Japanese influencer for a while now. She shares different ways of living fully in the moment, through dance, music, art, fashion, business\u2026 and embodies how powerful that can be. But every time I watch her, I think\u2014this is what I, we, musicians have been doing all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI saw this gap, especially in Utah, where I went to college and started playing jazz. There was a lack of African-American psychological support. A lot of the methods and models are built through white experience\u2014even when they talk about Black people, they filter it through a white lens of Black experience, not through Black experience itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it wasn\u2019t contextually accurate. I was learning about Freud, all these European thinkers\u2014which is fine\u2014but they don\u2019t come from the same lineage as my people. So I don\u2019t think we can diagnose or understand people in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started challenging that. I wrote a paper on the detriment of the African-American psyche.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo it became about philosophizing, but also applying it\u2014thinking about how psychology could be used in a more practical way. And then relating that back to jazz, to bring people back into their bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because historically, for African-Americans\u2014at least in my culture\u2014music has always been how we reconnect to our bodies. Jazz, blues, work songs, spirituals. That\u2019s where it comes from. Beautifully, we now have different forms of therapy\u2014music therapy, art therapy\u2014not just sitting in front of someone and talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language is everything. Language is music. Language is thought. The way we listen is language. The way we understand each other is through language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if we can use different languages and dialects, we can give people a more accurate understanding of themselves. Especially for Black people\u2014to be understood properly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I think this is what led me to share my own experience\u2014being one of the few female Asian drummers in the scene, and how that felt both limiting and, in some ways, beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He began talking about gender and marginalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that when you are told you cannot do something\u2014even when you are already doing it\u2014it creates confusion. It makes you question your own reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had described my past self as \u201cegoistic,\u201d because I felt competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He challenged that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEgo is an interesting word. It sounds more like you just wanted to be seen for who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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That changed my perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone wants to be seen and accepted. That is not a flaw\u2014it is human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, I realize I wasn\u2019t driven by ego. I was trying to affirm my existence. Especially in an environment where I felt uncertain, surrounded by strong personalities, I was trying to define who I was\u2014what my sound was, what I should play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why I now encourage people to write their own music. It is one of the most direct and safe ways to discover yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People become powerful\u2014not only when they know who they are, but when they truly recognize that they exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are here. Right now.
That alone is enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in today\u2019s world\u2014with constant information and endless distractions\u2014we often lose connection with our bodies. Our minds drift elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dae says music is an anchor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It connects people.
It connects mind and body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone who tends to overthink, I realize that I play music to return to the physical\u2014to come back to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAs much as I\u2019m a non-binary choice individual, I don\u2019t like one-or-two thinking. I really believe we can find our own way if we choose to. We create our own path\u2014one that exists outside of what we\u2019re told we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The second half of the interview began with my question about how to create a life\u2014his intentions in life and in music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And once again, he mentioned \u201cLove Supreme.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had said the same thing when we first met. His intention is to reach that state\u2014to accept people for who they are, what they are, and why they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen I play, the reason I play is because I\u2019m trying to get to Love Supreme. It might sound crazy, but for me, John Coltrane\u2019s A Love Supreme<\/em>, and Alice Coltrane\u2019s Journey in Satchidananda<\/em>, all of that embodies something essential. It shows that love is the highest reason I\u2019m able to exist here and do what I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My ancestors loved so deeply. They loved those around them so much that they gave\u2014so that I could be here now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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He continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMy grandma always says, no one should be able to take away what\u2019s inside you. People will try, and things will try, but you just have to keep going. You have to remember what came before you, and understand that things come together in many forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes what is meant for you doesn\u2019t come in the form you expected\u2014but it comes in the form you need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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For him, Love Supreme<\/em> is not just an album. It is a framework for understanding life.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat album\u2014and that concept\u2014touched me deeply. It helped me understand my own life, my lived experience, and the experiences of so many others, even beyond Black communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what is happening, we can always look toward love. Even the word \u2018love\u2019 is a reduction of something much bigger\u2014of the feeling of connection. But for now, we call it Love Supreme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to reach when I play. And if I don\u2019t feel that, I can\u2019t really play. I just want everyone I play with, or anyone I encounter, to know that I accept them exactly as they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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At some point, he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJazz is continuous decision-making.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dae<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That line stayed with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I had been feeling that I needed to start living my philosophy instead of just thinking about it. I realized I had been sending myself the same message over and over: I\u2019m not ready.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I\u2019ve already learned so much. Instead of just collecting knowledge, it\u2019s time to turn it into experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I value about my own project is that it gives me a space to share my current thoughts and ideas in front of an audience. No matter what happens in the music, it is a choice made in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no absolute right or wrong. What feels \u201cwrong\u201d may simply be something you need to go through in order to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the philosophy I want to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t play music to tell a fixed story\u2014like a lost love or a favorite memory. I want to embody my life through music, show how powerful it is to be in the moment and say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what I choose right now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that choice can always change. Anyone can do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always felt that I wasn\u2019t a typical musician or a typical singer-songwriter. But now, it\u2019s becoming clearer what I\u2019ve been trying to express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music is not the goal.
I simply want to live my life\u2014and express my existence through music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dae also spoke about philosophy in a different way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPhilosophy, much like psychological evaluation, has looked very different for Black people. The philosophers I connect with are people like Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Monk, Charles Mingus, Alice Coltrane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They weren\u2019t always recognized as philosophers because they didn\u2019t fit the academic image. But they were living what they believed in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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He explained that these figures didn\u2019t have the luxury of abstract thinking detached from reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were acting, surviving, resisting\u2014often under threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their philosophy was not separate from life.
It was life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
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\u201cYou don\u2019t have time to sit in a caf\u00e9 and theorize when your survival is at stake. Philosophy looks different when action is happening at the same time as thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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And for him, this is exactly what jazz is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIn jazz, you are playing and, at the same time, realizing how you\u2019re playing. You react in real time. The composition is happening as you play. You can\u2019t stop\u2014you just respond.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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That idea resonated deeply with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It helped me understand why I play the way I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to live freely\u2014but also take responsibility for that freedom.
Music is where I practice that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite way to play is to improvise within a structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t start from scratch, and we don\u2019t simply reproduce what already exists. We know the song\u2014but we reshape it in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We change harmony.
We extend sections.
We shift direction together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We listen. We sense. We respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To play like this, you need awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to listen\u2014not from ego, but from a broader perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t cling to what the song \u201cshould\u201d be.
You don\u2019t hold onto what was rehearsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You stay with what is happening now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every note is a decision.
Even repetition is a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is what creates a convincing sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music gains power through intention\u2014through how clearly and strongly that intention is expressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is what I want in my music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want everyone involved\u2014musicians and audience alike\u2014to become part of the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t want passive listeners.
I want active presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just understanding the music, but understanding themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you feeling?
What is happening in your body?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if a \u201chappy\u201d song makes you feel something completely different\u2014that feeling matters. It is yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it deserves to be acknowledged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dae also spoke about marginalization in a way that stayed with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen you\u2019re marginalized, you internalize it. Your mind becomes: \u2018I am marginalized.\u2019 Then you try to remove that from yourself. But the truth is\u2014you exist, just like anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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At its core, it is about recognizing your own existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained this through his \u201ccycle model of the outlier,\u201d using gender as an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Society categorizes people into binaries\u2014male and female\u2014and attaches expectations to those categories. Language reinforces these roles, making them feel like absolute reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But eventually, people begin to question these structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They challenge them.
They resist them.
They redefine themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this process continues\u2014again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like jazz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each time, you respond differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, his long-term vision is simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To exist.
To align with truth.
To move toward Love Supreme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAs long as I can align with truth and Love Supreme, and show up for myself and others\u2014that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Because showing up for yourself is also how you show up for others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talking to Dae feels like rewiring my thoughts. When he described the connection between philosophy and music, I immediately related to his lived experience. That is exactly what I have been searching for in music\u2014and how I practice both philosophy and life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[129,127,128],"series":[66],"ppma_author":[67],"class_list":["post-2444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-a-love-supreme","tag-dae-bryant","tag-jazz","series-art-of-life-artists-who-create-their-own-lifestyles"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_123650291-copy-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_123650291-copy-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Aine Fujioka","author_link":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/archives\/author\/aine-fujioka"},"authors":[{"term_id":67,"user_id":9,"is_guest":0,"slug":"aine-fujioka","display_name":"Aine Fujioka","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_5841.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_5841.jpg"},"author_category":"1","first_name":"Aine","last_name":"Fujioka","user_url":"https:\/\/ainefujioka.wixsite.com\/beatsderoots","job_title":"","description":"

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, I started my musical journey with piano and trumpet, before finding my passion for drums and studying in Osaka, then later at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Over the past two decades, I\u2019ve worked as a professional drummer in Boston, NYC, and Berlin.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Along the way, I faced health and mental challenges that led me to explore Yoga, healing techniques, and holistic practices. These experiences not only supported my own well-being but also inspired me to guide other musicians on their path.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

In 2023, I launched my solo music project aine wie keine<\/a> and released my debut mini-album \u2014 a deeply personal expression of my journey. Through Beats de Roots, I now combine my passion for music, coaching, and holistic living to help female musicians grow, heal, and thrive.<\/p>"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2444"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2458,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444\/revisions\/2458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2444"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=2444"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}