Birthday Boy // Artist Interview

From Toronto, musicians Birthday Boy & Trish, have released a new EP, Joseph. Birthday Boy, known for his unique and experimental musical sense, has earned the praise of outlets such as Pitchfork, FADER, Hypebeast, Huff Post, and many more outlets through his collaborations with fellow Toronto artists Allie and Drew Howard. Now, he's teamed up with Trish on a new EP via Bastard Jazz to give new sounds full of funk and groove, while never losing the inventiveness of Birthday Boy. We got a chance to sit down with Birthday Boy and discuss his latest work.

[ Vinylmnky ]: Your newest EP, Joseph is a collaborative release– how did you and Trish meet and get to working together?

[ Birthday Boy ]: We met through our mutual friend Joe. He and I were making some songs together and we showed them to Trish to see if she would re-sing them. She loved them and we ended up writing a whole EP together.

What was it like collaborating together?

[ Birthday Boy ]: It was and is a breeze! She is such a pro and we always catch onto a sort of warm vibe together.

Joseph is such an uplifting and positive EP. What was the inspiration behind these songs?

[ Birthday Boy ]: A lot of these songs came from dark times in our lives, where we would sing these happy tunes to ourselves to make us feel better.

What was the process behind creating this unique sound heard on Joseph?

[ Birthday Boy ]: Everything you hear was done in the room together, with the exception of one or two beats. I did most of the music, and Trish and Joe did most of the words. For a couple of sessions we had Ejji Smith on guitar, which was dope.

What song is most significant for you?

[ Birthday Boy ]: I think my favourite is "Just One Kiss," it has more of a vintage sound that I think suits our collaborations better.

Can you tell us the story behind the EP name?

[ Birthday Boy ]: The EP is named after Joe, the third member of the team. We wanted all three to have our name on the project so his is in the album title and ours in the artist names

Birthday Boy, your music has several genres connected to it, like jazzy R&B, nu-disco, neo-house. How would you describe your sound?

[ Birthday Boy ]: I would describe my sound as Modern Music. I think musicians of the future will exist outside the boundaries of genres. Everything that’s happened up until now, especially within black American music, informs the sound.

We’re all about sharing new music here at Vinylmnky, who do you think we should be listening to?

[ Birthday Boy ]: My friends: Marlon James, Ejji smith, MorMor, MI blue, Allie, and anyone I post about on Twitter. Lately I’ve been sticking a lot to the classics to me: Sly Stone, Leonard Cohen, Feist, Herbie Hancock. Some newer stuff I like: Rejjie Snow, Yaeji, Mc Bin Laden, Moses Sumney, Bahamas.

What can we expect from Birthday Boy in the future?

[ Birthday Boy ]: I have a ton of new music coming soon, I just have to figure out how to release it. I think I’ve started to finally hone in on a new sound.

Listen to Birthday Boy

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