An Interview with Baird

I recently had the pleasure of conducting an interview with the up and coming multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter Baird, ahead of his mixtape release for BIRDSONGS Vol. 2. Baird graduated from the Brown music program in 2019, and towards the end of his time there he became acquainted with my KXSC mentor Ben Buckley. BIRDSONGS Vol. 2 marks Baird’s first mixtape release since 2018’s BIRDSONGS Vol. 1.

Baird hails from Baltimore where early on music became an important part of his life. He grew up playing many instruments like the guitar, drums, and piano. However, he explained that as his brother became more focused on the piano, he shifted more towards the guitar. When I asked him about his major guitar influences he mentioned his love for Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfá and the music of Fleetwood Mac. Baird’s other musical influences include Jai Paul (which  you can hear in BIRDSONGS Vol. 1), Quincy Jones, and Stevie Wonder. All of these sounds, styles, and influences meld together on BIRDSONGS Vol. 2 to create a refreshingly unique take on the neo-RnB genre that has become so popular. 

Photo courtesy of Andrea DoSouto.

“BIRDSONGS Vol. 2 is a collection of little stories and sound collages. I tried to play and write everything myself, so that way it’s an honest project - it’s where I’m at. My idea with making the birdsongs mixtapes is to have a sandbox where I can play around, and looking back mark my progress as a musician. I’m experimenting with different forms, so sometimes the songs end up in very different places. But the goal is never to blend genres. I honestly just start with something catchy and let the song tell me where it wants to go. Every now and then I stumble into what feels like a pocket of something new, and those are the songs I keep working on. I think Volume 2 marks a pretty transient moment in my life. I started a lot of the songs in Baltimore, where I’m from, and finished writing most of it in Mexico City, where I was studying and practicing guitar for most of last year. Honestly I just took my favorite pieces from the last year or so and glued them all together. I hope you can dig it.”

As Baird put it in our conversation, the BIRDSONGS mixtapes are a sort of playground of experimentation. Vol. 1 was a project that allowed Baird to focus on developing production techniques, sounds, and a unique musical identity for himself. He explained to me that his vocals were something he was still developing confidence in, so he kept them low in his mixes. This changed for Vol. 2; Baird was showing that he had become more assured in putting his voice out there and making it a more prominent part of his music. This can be heard on his great singles “Beluga Baby,” and “Chasing Deer,” or in “Lo Que Tuvimos,” where he sings the ending verse in Spanish. 

As far as the future, Baird has recently moved to Los Angeles, and has set up a recording studio for himself where he gets to play, practice, and record any time. When I asked him whether the pandemic is negatively affecting his ability to perform BIRDSONGS Vol. 2 live, he actually gave me a unique answer: while some of the BIRDSONGS music is played live, these mixtapes on the whole are meant to exist as mixtapes, and his live shows primarily rely on different songs. I found this answer to be cool because it plays into the experimental aspect of these mixtapes, and lets them live and breathe on their own. Baird also let me know that the final installment of BIRDSONGS is being developed, but until then we get to have the time to listen to and enjoy all that BIRDSONGS Vol. 2 has to offer.

Listen to BIRDSONGS Vol. 2 here: https://smarturl.it/BIRDSONGSVol2 

-Nick Calahan, KXSC DJ