Michael Bird is an independent artist based in Birmingham, UK. Navigating intimacy and ego with thoughtfulness and honesty, Michael Bird takes a detailed approach to composition. From the underlying harmony to the textures in each note, he beckons for the listener’s full attention, promising character and depth. Michael Bird delivers his songs with vocals that are athletic but charming and soulful but candid.
What first got you into music?
I learned how to play the piano at a young age. When I was being picked out by teachers at school to sing, I started to notice that people enjoyed listening. I then picked up a guitar and, by the age of 13, I was pretty set on pursuing music.
Who inspired you to make music?
My uncle would entertain the rest of the family on the piano for parties, and I loved the atmosphere that created. Over the years I’ve had different influences. A few big ones growing were Dave Grohl, Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams. Very different genres but all of them were all-rounders with writing, singing, playing and producing.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
It feels a little cliché these days but ‘eclectic.’ I think most artists nowadays are working between genres. I’m inspired by soul, rock, folk, electronic, jazz, classical, and a few more. I’m in a generation where we’re riffing off previous artists who were working in-between genres themselves.
What is your creative process like?
I’m inspired by themes and concepts, mostly. I’ll marinate on an idea sometimes for months, if not years. ‘Roots’ came about from my first writing session with Robbie Moore. We created that sample in the intro, which felt like leaves flying around the room. The word ‘deciduous’ was our starting point, and we went from there.
What can we expect from you within the next 6 months? Any releases planned? Future gigs?
I’ll have an EP coming out next year. I’m trying to plan some launch parties in Birmingham and London for that.
If you were to write an autobiography, what would the title be?
For Someone Called ‘Bird’, I Don’t Tweet Much.
If you could ask your future self-one question, what would it be?
I can’t think of anything clever… probably if I should bother investing in Bitcoin or not.
Do you have any lucky items, objects, or traditions?
I have a teddy bear from when I couldn’t speak called ‘oo’.
Do you have any superstitions?
I grew up on a farm and one of my jobs was thistles pudding where you would uproot thistles. I had a daydream as I was doing this job that the thistles were just the hair of these bigger creatures underneath. They would then emerge above ground and demand a reason as to why I was uprooting their kin. Very bizarre and not sure if that was a superstition, but that’s what came to mind.
If you were talking to a younger version of you, what advice would you give yourself?
No matter how many complements people give you, no one else is going to pull you up to the place you want to get to. You need to do that yourself.
Michael returns to the ether with the emotional sounds of “Roots” – lifted from his forthcoming EP Evergreen due out early 2024.
An offering which tugs at the heartstrings through its rich orchestral moments and a lyrical narrative written from the depths of Bird’s emotions, “Roots” touches on a sensitive subject exploring patterns of broken relationships passed through generations.
Skilfully utilizing metaphors of deciduous leaves dropping, “Roots” explores how people might engage with long-term relationships differently, touching on heavy topics like generational pain in a poetic and beautiful way that weaves in hope – bringing the lyrics to life via earthy sounds artistically balanced with the dark mid-tempo groove.
Speaking on the track, Michael Bird shared: “The song started with the sample that plays at the start. We created this sample ourselves by layering lots of different sounds and then pitching it up and chopped it. When we had the sample playing over and over, it felt like autumn leaves were swirling around the studio. We decided to use that as our writing palette and wrote lyrics that used deciduous and evergreen trees as a metaphor.”
Coming together as a soulful new instalment to the British artist’s growing catalogue of emotionally layered creations, “Roots” points to an exciting new direction for the rising artist and comes as the latest in a string of vulnerable releases from the underground talent, building up to his upcoming EP Evergreen – a project billed as a deep dive into the nuances in relationships and discovering hope in the midst of struggles.
Navigating intimacy and ego with thoughtfulness and honesty, Michael Bird takes a detailed approach to composition. From the underlying harmony to the textures in each note, he beckons for the listener’s full attention, promising character and depth with his charming yet soulful vocal range.