Hark! [SIGNED Exclusive Red]
Let’s not talk about the dubious motives that might lead an artist to make a holiday record. It’s a complicated relationship many of us have with the holidays and the requisite music we hear.
So let’s admit that it’s a utilitarian thing. The music is just one contributing factor to our communal or solitary joy and melancholy. As a musician, it’s an excuse to take a break from writing the next record and indulge in an unapologetically nostalgic exercise. I’ve done my best to find some lesser known gems.
My mother used to play a tape of Pavarotti with the Vienna Boys Choir when I was little, so I worked up a version of "Mille Cherubini” (her favorite from that album). Her inspiration didn't end there. We collaborated on the artwork for this album, something we haven’t done since The Ballad of the Red Shoes in 2002. My mom used to teach art classes to the kids in our neighborhood growing up and she would take us to the Art Institute of Chicago every month. Along with taking me to violin lessons twice a week, it was quite an education. To collaborate
with her all these years later is such a pleasure for us both.
There’s an original tune I wrote in April during the most disorienting phase of the pandemic, when I couldn’t help but wonder where we’ll be when the holidays come, if we could be together or not. I’ve been writing a lot of songs inspired by this uninspiring predicament. Let's hope they all become obsolete as soon as possible.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Hark! And that it underscores better times.
—
Andrew Bird, September 2020