Bay Area Native, Brian Dublin’s Debut Album, Love Cycles
Written by Michelle Sy | June 11, 2026
Hailing from San Jose, California, Brian Dublin is a Filipino-American singer, graphic designer, photographer, storyteller, and so much more. A self-proclaimed multifaceted artist, Brian drops his debut album, Love Cycles, on June 19th. This project chronicles over ten years of his life, encapsulating very raw and honest lived experiences. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak in-depth with Brian about his artist journey, intentions, and thoughts on the album.
Growing up, Brian described music as something that was, “baked into the Filipino experience.” His mother loved karaoke, and his father was a musician who had played in bands, so the household was no stranger to the arts. After stumbling upon Jeremy Passion in high school, another Filipino-American and SF based R&B artist, Brian was inspired to begin songwriting as well. Other early inspirations were Usher, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, and Stevie Wonder. Gravitating towards R&B and acoustic R&B music was a huge byproduct of coming of age in the ‘90s.
The Bay Area is home to a vibrant music and dance culture, despite its techie stereotypes. Many local artists, like Brian, share a desire to help, “put the bay area (music scene) on the map.” As someone heavily involved in the open mic scene, Brian has a strong love and pride for the tight-knit community that has been built in the bay. He described it as a welcoming, supportive place where everyone is in it together, and “a win for one of us is a win for all.” Being in this type of environment encouraged a lot of his growth as an artist, and goes to show how powerful music can be in bringing people together.
Personally speaking, Brian said songwriting is an outlet for venting emotions and processing things. Brian’s music is vulnerable for this reason: it documents important life moments, such as coming to terms with his sexuality. This has played a big part in the creation and release of his newest project, as Brian did not feel comfortable expressing his true self in music until he was able to come out. Once he came out to his family and felt free to be himself and tell his story, everything slowly began to click into place.
Love Cycles is a very fitting name for what we all go through in life: different phases and rollercoaster moments of finding love, losing it, and rediscovering yourself. Stylistically, the album touches on different genres as well; it opens with a Bossa Nova song, and ends with a waltz, with R&B fused throughout. A funny way Brian put it is, “if this album was a soup, the base would be R&B, with some seasonings of pop and ballads, and emotions being the MSG of it all.”
The album follows Brian’s life quite chronologically, from having a crush on a girl to dating men, to experiencing a first heartbreak. This idea began to take shape once Brian started seriously recording and making demos. While he wrestled with how he could put together all of these different pieces of his life, he knew the entire time that the underlying theme was always honest storytelling.
This aligns with his songwriting philosophy, a process that can happen a number of different ways. Often, Brian’s initial intention or reflex is to simply get a feeling off of his chest. He turns to songwriting because it creates a catharsis that’s unmatched. Unlike venting to someone or writing a word dump, “when you have music and melody and chords, they transcend words, filling in blanks that you can’t fill otherwise.” Sometimes Brian discovers his lyrics first, other times it’s melody. Once Brian’s zeroed in on the idea, he lets the song take on a life of its own, but not without constantly asking himself questions like: “What am I trying to tell, say, and express?”
The intentionality behind his music is why, after 10 years, Love Cycles is still an honest representation of who Brian is. Previously, he talked about how writing this album has healed and saved him in ways that only songwriting could. He initially struggled with feelings of guilt about taking so long to create the album, but working on it allowed him to make peace with those feelings and parts of his life. Another way he views music is through its ability to create time capsules, as going back to certain songs can revive specific feelings or emotions from that time. Revisiting old songs with a more distanced and knowledgeable perspective is validating. Having grown so much in the past ten years, Brian shared that he is able to hit certain notes now that he couldn’t have back then, and perhaps even express himself better. He is ultimately glad that these songs are only being released now, and feels assured that they have been, “marinating all this time for a reason — to take the form they are in at this very moment.”
One might wonder if making music so vulnerable and close to the heart is frightening; Brian is no exception. He admitted that the scary part is in sharing it, as he’s essentially reading his diary in front of everyone. However, part of his love for music — and what makes him brave these fears regardless — is seeing the magic and superpower in creating something that could profoundly impact someone. Music has helped Brian feel so seen in his own life, and there is nothing more empowering to him than knowing a song he wrote from being sad at 3 in the morning could create that same experience for others. Luckily, Brian has actually experienced this in real life: at some of his live performances, people have come up to him and expressed how much his music resonated with them. Brian’s ultimate legacy is in leaving an impact, knowing that even when he is gone, his music will remain. Making music allows him to put magic somewhere both physically and intangibly, release it, and let it exist forever. It is a powerful and even metaphysical experience.
I asked Brian two questions afterwards: what he would tell his younger self from 2011, and what he would say to anyone who is an aspiring artist, and may identify with being queer and/or Asian-American. I will leave you with his last words, as they struck a chord with me and truly embody the type of musician he is:
“To myself, don’t stop believing in your art. Don’t stop believing in the power that it has, and know that things will eventually fall into place.”
“To everyone else, I think it’s so important, as much as you can, to tell your story. No matter how mundane or unspecial you think it is, someone might hear it and think, oh my god, I needed to know that there was someone like me out there. Seeing Jeremy Passion started this whole journey of songwriting and music for me, because he showed me that I could do it too. And if you’re a young, queer person now, I’m so happy that you get to grow up in a time where you can express that safely, but also remember that some people in this world still can’t. We live in an age where you could be vlogging from California and inspiring someone across the world who can’t live like you do. Never take for granted how much of an impact your art can have on someone, and most of all, be loud about your existence.”
Love Cycles by Brian Dublin, out on June 19th.
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