Prominent LA-based producer Blackbird Blackbird released his newest single ‘Myself’ via his own imprint Blackbird Blackbird Records.
Previous Tracks ‘Hawaii’ and ‘Pure’ both topped the Hype Machine charts, and he has twice been Hype Machine’s most blogged artist. Blackbird Blackbird has toured extensively nationally and internationally, including festivals such as Lightning in a Bottle and legendary Swedish Hultsfred Festival sharing stages with the likes of TOKiMONSTA, Nicolas Jaar, Tycho, Rusko, Emancipator, Crystal Castles, Foster The People and Chad Valley.
Mikey Maramag was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and grew up in San Francisco. Hailing from a musical family, he first became enchanted with the idea of sound creation as a toddler, when discovering that his grandmother could make up her own songs on the piano. His father’s extensive record collection influenced his eclectic tastes, and his stepfather introduced him to Brit-pop at an early age, thus inspiring the name Blackbird Blackbird – so named after the famous Beatles song ‘Blackbird.’
Blackbird Blackbird has traversed the musical landscape, soaking up the prog-rock and world music his father favoured, eventually cultivating his own tastes – initially around hardcore, punk, and emo, before gravitating to jazz, trip-hop, and electronic music. He cites influence from a wide array of genres: New Order, The Smiths, The Radio Dept., Radiohead, M83, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Four Tet, Beach House, Tycho. Blackbird Blackbird’s penchant for pop hooks and dreamy musicality has garnered favourable comparison to Odesza, Washed Out and Com Truise.
The music of Blackbird Blackbird envelops you with fuzzy warm electro textures like a cozy sonic womb sheltering you from heartache and life struggles. His sound conjures up the blissed-out pop of 1980s new wave, but the chillwave production aesthetic is sharply modern. The crooning vocals and sublime new wave ambience of ‘Myself’ bespeaks Mikey’s love of 1980s music. “That’s me channelling Morrisey or Robert Smith,” he says. ‘Myself’ is characterised by understated moody washes, the rolling bassline presenting an uplifting and slightly hypnotic element. Maramag’s vocal melodies occupy the track like sonic wallpaper, pulling a mosaic of genres and influences into a beautifully cohesive whole.
Speaking of the track he comments: “It’s a self-deprecating darkwave song about me coming to terms with my faults and shortcomings to help people understand why I can be an asshole,” he says, laughing good-naturedly.
Hearts Tracklist
1. Lifestream
2. Myself
3. Collapse
4. It Hurts To Say Goodbye
5. Hearts (Album Version)
6. What We’ve Built (Album Version)
7. The Biggest Mistake
8. Underneath It All
9. Real Love
10. The Saddest Song
Upcoming Live Dates:
8 November – Zone One at Elsewhere, Brooklyn, NY
23 November – Neck of the Woods, SF
24 January – Roxy, LA
31 Jan – Cervantes & Other’s Side (Balloon Pop) wEMANCIPATOR, Denver, CO
1 February – Empire Control Room – Full Venue (Balloon Pop) w/EMANCIPATOR, Austin, TX
https://www.facebook.com/BlackbirdBlackbirdSF
