Born and raised in Seattle, Briana Marela has traveled some but has always called the state of Washington home. There is a sense of place in her music — a sense of nature, of the northwest and of the unique space that exists between cities and wilderness. More than that, however, Briana draws inspiration from the people around her. Not just the emotions they evoke, but also the tactile feelings those emotions bring us: the warmth of affection; the weightlessness of joy; the grounded, anchored feeling of love. That gift for illuminating the abstract is counterbalanced by a remarkable clarity in Briana’s lyrics, and that straightforwardness manifests itself in powerful ways. Briana’s lyrics are forceful, and throughout her second album, All Around Us, traditional song structure gives way to plainspoken declarations that pull back the record’s shroud.All Around Us, named after a children’s picture book, traces Briana’s transition between places, beginning just before she embarked on her first-ever tour in 2012. While on that tour with her sister Briana performed at an art gallery in Providence, Rhode Island and it was there that she crossed paths with the artist Scott Alario.