The latest single from Janie Price, also known as singer-songwriter Bird, is a moody, mysterious piece that hooks you in and stays with you afterwards. Co-written with Andy Dunlop of Travis, this is an atmospheric, folky lament to lost love. The key element is Bird’s ethereal, echoing voice, which follows a beautifully haunting and memorable melody, elevated by sweeping, soaring cello and delicate finger-plucked acoustic guitar and banjo. In the video, her impassioned performance, while soaked through, reflects the heartbreak in her words.
Bird says of the song and video: “It was such a joy working on this song with (Travis guitarist) Andy Dunlop, my ‘brother from another mother’. We shared such a similar creative process, and that allowed us a freedom I rarely feel afforded when working with someone else. I really feel that helped us create something without the usual conventions and boundaries. I love that this song feels like it nods to multiple genres and yet none specifically. It is the meaning and feeling of the song that dictated the music, not us writing in a specific style, which, thanks to a need to ‘obey the algorithm’, is how most things seem to get written now. What started out as a simple lyric about a circle evolved into a very personal song, and I’m really proud of it. ‘Sunny Days’ the song was mainly recorded in Austin, Texas under the watchful eye and beautiful banjo playing of Texan country and Americana star Kimmi Rhodes’ son Gabriel – but when I needed to shoot the video for the single I found myself on a family trip to Uluru in the middle of the Australian outback – the barren landscapes and circles of sunshine felt fitting though, as did the hours spent lip synching in her shower for the chorus lines – thankfully the iPhone was waterproof!!”
The single appears on Bird’s brand new EP, “Heads or Tales”, which is out now. As well as Dunlop, Bird was supported by other talented instrumentalists on her new songs, including Ally McErlaine (Texas), Hal Lindes (Dire Straits) and Ed Cosens (Reverend and the Makers). ‘Sunny Days’ is the lead single from the EP and our first taste of the Americana-inspired new songs. Bird says of the release: “It was such an honour to work in America with some of my favourite musicians to record this EP. I enjoyed the process so much that what started out as a small project has now developed into enough material for an album. As a half-Irish string player, my ancestors were really there at the creation of the genre we call Americana, and it is an absolute privilege to have spent the past couple of years exploring my deep-rooted ties to this music. I’ve been telling stories in my songs for as long as I can remember writing, I feel with this EP I have sort of musically come home.”
Check out ‘Sunny Days’ and then seek out the new EP – this really is the sweetest form of melancholy. Enjoy.
