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You have just returned from Rome, how does it feel to be back in the studio after the difficulties of this year?
It always feels good to be back in the studio – the studio has always been a special place for me, a sanctuary.And particularly so this year…
How easy/difficult has it been to record under Covid rules?
Mixing is tricky – having your nose and mouth covered does seem to affect a little bit how you hear. I don’t know if it’s psychosomatic or scientific but anyway we wore them all the time to be Covid compliant with the rules here in Italy – 10 hours a day every day – I was also happy to, I’m proudly pro-mask.
Have you added new songs as a result?
No but it’s weird how prophetic some of the songs seem now in retrospect.
How does this album differ from previous Bird albums?
Elements from each album are in this one – the main difference is that apart from one song they are all collaborations with one other artist/writer.
You have been collaborating with some fantastic people. Are you able to let us know a little more about them?
Worked with many old friends making this album which made it alot of fun – one was Grammy Award winning writer John Paul White (The Civil Wars). We actually met over a decade ago on an EMI Publishing song writing camp in Norway but didn’t get to write together then… It took ten years and a chance mutual friend, my producer, to get us together and it was worth the wait. John Paul is a massive talent and I wrote quite a few tracks with him that I’m very proud of… Another big contributer has been Hal Lindes (Dire Straits) another producer friend of mine Chris Kimsey (Rolling Stones) recommended we work together and it was another “we just clicked” moment for me. We’ve written alot of tracks together now, he’s also of course an awesome guitarist having been part of Dire Straits during their most successful period.
Finally, this has been a momentous year that has changed all our lives. You yourself have relocated to Tuscany, what are your hopes for next year? Do you remain optimistic?
Hope is the only thing we can have and we mustn’t lose it no matter how awful things seem. There is only one truth, nothing lasts forever. So yes I’m optimistic.
