Formed in mid 2021, Blackbirds have already been tipped as ‘Ones to watch’ by ThisFeelingUK and played multiple headline shows in the clubs of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Their debut single ‘ControlFreak‘ was selected for inclusion on the successful ‘Brits and Pieces‘ compilation album which charted at #39. The track was produced by Mark Morrow (Vistas, Swim School) and showcases a rocky edge to the groups sound.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Blackbirds about the new music, technology, surviving the pandemic and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
I’m from West Lothian but Andy is from Glasgow and Callum and Adam are from Carluke in Lanarkshire. It’s Indie-Rock – guitar, bass, drums and a vocal on top. It’s not a new formula, although we’re definetly a bit ‘rockier’ than some bands, I would say.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
We like playing together, I like writing songs and playing the guitar. Starting a group seemed the natural course to follow to me.
Tell us about ControlFreak – Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
This is our first single. It’s a good summary of the bands sound for the time being. It’s riff-driven with a good chorus and has a self indulgent guitar solo… haha. In regards to the creation thing, it was the same as always, I wrote the song at home and then took it to the band to rehearse. We re-recorded it a couple of times, we had to make sure it was as good as possible.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as creatives – How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
Probably just people messing us about generally, getting overlooked etc. You dont lose faith cause you can’t. We like what we do, if we didn’t believe in it we wouldn’t do it. I don’t think so anyway.
What was the last song you listened to?
Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp – Led Zeppelin
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
I’ve got loads of vinyl but I’m big into bootlegs too so I ought to mention CD’s and downloads.
Where is the best place to connect with the band?
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
I appreciate the questions and interest so thank you. Nothing else to say except come and see us live if you can, well worth it I reckon.
