The Mind of birdmagic
Photo: Hipporacle
There’s a certain feeling in the air of Houston’s music scene where there appears to be so many doing so much without any aid. The electronic side of things here, is especially that way. We have more artists who jetset around the globe and do so without much of a base here in town. For the recently transplanted birdmagic, the same could be said. Part of the Red Bull Music Academy, the elusive producer has performed at Bonnaroo, and has broke bread and worked alongside heavy names like Prism House, formed collaborative efforts like Partydads’ and so much more. Since moving here from NOLA, he’s remixed tracks for Dallas’ Sudie, Houston’s Guilla, and has even joined the duo black kite. FPH caught up with him recently, to see what he’s been up to since getting to the bayou city.
FPH: What is the birdmagic project about, where did it come from, & who is birdmagic?
BIRDMAGIC: birdmagic started out as a very simple project. I moved to New York City and lived with a bunch of really dope musicians, and could never find the time to record my live instrument stuff. So I used my girlfriend-at-the-time’s Macbook Pro and some field recorders inspired by Prism House, to record my first E.P. The concept of birdmagic was to capture moments of my life that I thought others could relate to. Using the field recorders was a way to bring people directly into my world. You can recognize the sound of that street or the sound of those chimes,or the sound of that city. It reminds me of old photographs, they have the ability to transport you out of that attic back into that childhood memory…so i made a pretty simplistic record, which is what you have now. As for who I am and where it comes from…I’m just a normal dude from the midwest that found a way out… i.am.birdmagic
FPH: This new EP is three years old, why did it take so long to release?
BIRDMAGIC: The “Forget” E.P. is much older than that. I recorded most of the elements of the record while living in NYC which was about five years ago. There is a lot of found sound on the record which takes a lot of time to record as well. Most of the found sound stuff was recorded in New Orleans over a period of about two years. It didn’t really take me much time to make the record though. Maybe 3 weeks? As for why it took so long to release, I’m a perfectionist and I kept changing songs out and changing my mixes. I had planned on releasing it in July of 2024 but the world was kind of flipped that year so i put it off. I got an offer to release it through a small label out of NYC but they said it would be a year before they could get to it. So eventually, I forgot about it. It wasn’t until a good friend asked about it, and I released it that day. no more mixing, no more change.
FPH: You came to Houston from New Orleans, is there anything about NOLA that you miss?
BIRDMAGIC: Late Nights and my two oldest friends, Ryan and Brett. There’s something amazing about being in a smoke filled bar with those dudes at 4 A.M. Another good friend in NOLA, told me some words of wisdom once and I usually like to share them with everyone. “If you can howl with the wolves at night, you better scream with the eagles in the morning.”
FPH: You’ve gotten to do remixes for Houston artists like Guilla & Sudie from Dallas; what do you have coming up next?
BIRDMAGIC: I am now an official member of black kite which is pretty dope! I’m super inspired to be working with James Templeton from LIMB and Vicki Lynn. James’ insane way of bring this hyper nostalgic arpeggiated darkness to the table is amazing. Vicki has this insane drawn out haunting ghost like voice that has a way of crawling through my soul… we are the weirdos that should all be together. I can’t wait to release some of the stuff we’re doing. We just recorded at the Red Bull Studios in NYC last week. We’re working on an album currently, so stay tuned for that. We will be releasing something special relatively soon. On the other hand. Im working on an ambient mix tape that’s 5 rappers on 5 ambient songs. It’ll be out in August. It’s titled “If I can’t do it, You will.” As far as the Guilla remix for “I LOVE HIM,” which is a collaborative project between birdmagic and android genius, the link is right here.
I LOVE HIM (bird_genius remix)
FPH: Is there a birdmagic full length in the works?
BIRDMAGIC: Yes.
FPH: You’ve performed at Bonnaroo without an agent or a manager, you’re part of the famed Red Bull Music Academy, and you have heavy connects in the music industry. You could have lived anywhere in the world, why did you choose to live in Houston?
BIRDMAGIC: First off, some my best friends in the world, that I didn’t know I had…live here. I’m very close with Flcon Fcker and his whole world of glitched out insanity. I actually would visit him every two weeks from NOLA to play shows. which lead me to moving to Houston…so thanks to my boy. I also got offered to work with Dinolion, a film production house based here in Houston. We’re currently building very unique experiences in all things entertainment. I think Houston will be surprised what will come of it. And to comment on playing without an agent or management, I just never stopped playing music, and never paid anyone to listen to it. More people listen than you think. Make music, be yourself.
While the producer keeps up his steady pace of releases and remixes, his words of make music and be yourself ring true. His pace of neverending workflow and remixes just shows how much hustle he possesses. You can see what a set from birdmagic looks like, when he headlines a show at Rudyard’s on Thursday, April 16th. The show will also feature sets from Pitter Patter and Perseph One backed by Josiah Gabriel. The 21 & up show has doors at 8:00 and a $5.00 cover.
