Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: The band comes from New Zealand, Belgium, Scotland and England – we’re a mixed bunch from everywhere but all of us have musical ambition in common. Between us we have about 7 bands – Birdeatsbaby is just the one that connects us all together.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: Hana’s been listening to a lot of Emma Ruth Rundle, Mishkin has been listening to Alamaailman Vasaret, Garry is listening to Rivers of Nihil and Anna just listens to Toto and nothing else. Again, we’re an eclectic bunch!
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Birdeatsbaby’?
A: Mishkin – when I was growing up it was definitely Muse who had the biggest influence on me at first, I was very drawn to the piano, played classically but also very heavy with rock and metal influences. I loved the drama of Matt Belamy’s voice and for me it was the doorway into dark and progressive music. The name Birdeatsbaby came from a sequence of dreams I had as a teenager, I was an insomniac and when I (finally) slept I was plagued with nightmares. The band name came out of that period of my life.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Illuminate’. Is there a story behind it?
A: There is always a story behind our songs – this one is no different. It’s about being locked in a period of darkness, and looking for the way out. I wrote it during the pandemic when the music industry fell apart and it was difficult for us to see what future we had as an independent band. I also felt a big spiritual shift in my own journey and this song is reflecting that. The music video is about trying to create a balance between your light and shadow side, and realising that one can’t exist without the other.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: We’re currently teasing out songs from our album, HEX, so you can expect more songs from that in early next year and throughout 2023. We don’t know when the full album will be out, we’re working differently this time and allowing each song to be ready before release.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I would say that whatever genre we’re travelling through, our signature sound is that the music and subject matter is always quite dark. You can hear our sound growing over each album to become fuller and more progressive, but you can still hear it’s the same band. Personally, I think our sound is now post-metal, progressive and orchestral.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: That’s quite hard to say – on a financial level we get very little back from what we put in, that’s just the way the industry is designed. The artists barely make a living but the people using the music benefit massively. For that reason I’ve ditched Spotify and encourage our followers to use more ethical platforms such as Tidal, Bandcamp and Patreon. We’re very lucky to have such supportive fans so we’re able to make it work, and fund ourselves, but I desperately want the industry to stop exploiting musicians, and for things to be fairer. You are constantly striving to carry on and it can feel like an uphill struggle that never ends. However, I will say that we get so much back from our listeners that it’s completely worth carrying on, our fans are so supportive and passionate that it makes us want to continue as long as we can, it’s clear that the world wants us to keep making music, so we will as long as we can sustain it! We’re very grateful to have that.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: (Mishkin) I usually start with a chord progression, and structure. Sometimes the melody is there too but it’s not essential. Once I’ve rolled that into a Logic project, we go to Anna to lay on drums, and then back to Garry and Hana to add their layers. I’ll finish the track with vocals on the top and then we send it to our producer, Evan Rodaniche to work his magic. It’s a very slow process, we tend not to churn out lots of songs but take out time getting one just right before it’s ready to go.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: The pandemic was pretty rough – we watched our tours cancelled and booking agents go under, as well as several venues close, and with Brexit on top of that we’ve been stuck without doing our usual touring route in Europe. However, we were able to write a lot more, and take some time to rest and reflect. I don’t think we released how burnt out we were until we actually stopped gigging so much. So in some ways it’s actually good to redefine what we’re trying to do. We’ve realised we much prefer recording and making music than live gigs, and will only go back to that if it’s sustainable. We don’t know what the future of the touring industry looks like yet.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: I think getting one of our songs on a Channel4 show “Close To Me” was an amazing moment, followed by a BBC Radio One play this year. It was like being seen for the first time by the mainstream media, having been such a niche band for so many years it was amazing to break through into those platforms. I’m very hopeful for the future of the band and so happy that those achievements are now under our belts
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