Bird Language

Photo by, Steven Louis

Meet Bird Language

Greetings friends. I am stoked that we got a chance to put this interview together. Bird Language is a duo made up of Jake and Will. Together they create some of the most inventive and beautiful hip-hop instrumentals I have heard in a long time. Collaborating with a myriad of artists their 2020 release “insider art” is a must-listen for anyone looking to travel into a groovy zen stooper. Get to know the two in our latest interview.

Medical Questions: A Fill in The Blank With Bird Language

PATIENT: Doctor, whenever I stand up I get a SHINY pain in my ENCYCLOPEDIA. Is this serious?

DOCTOR: Sounds as if you have an inflammation of your AKG C414 XLII MULTIPATTERN CONDENSER MICROPHONE. You need an anti-HAMBURGER shot.

PATIENT: Doctor, I'm thinking of having THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ALBUM INSIDER ART removed. Is this a SAUCY operation?

DOCTOR: No, the operation is quite SLOVENLY, providing you have ROBUST kidneys.

PATIENT: What are the symptoms of an overactive TUBE?

DOCTOR: High MERCURY pressure. Also, SPIDERS in the abdomen.

PATIENT: Doctor, is it possible for a ZERO-year-old man to have a PINKY TOE attack?

DOCTOR: Only if he doesn't watch his DUMP TRUCK and eats A SHINY BIRD LANGUAGE PIN, AVAILABLE AT WWW.BIRDLANGUE.FYI FOR THE LOW PRICE OF $5.

Would You Rather

If you could pick one species of animals besides people to become 15 times their current size which one would you choose? Why?

Bird - we are contractually obligated to make birds our answer to all animal questions. Plus giant birds are basically dinosaurs, and we’ve all seen how awesome bringing back dinosaurs would be from Jurassic Park.

Some questions with Bird Language

I read on your website that Will dislikes NJ transit? What bad thing could you possibly have to say about such a flawless system?

Will: Over the years I’ve spent months and months of my time in their loving hands, and I would like all of that back. I watched their carelessness kill a guy once, one of the most awful things I’ve ever seen. Bet you didn’t expect that as an answer. Sorry to start the interview off on a bad note!

What is the creative process like between the two of you?

Jake: Fundamentally, our teamwork is based around fully compatible skill sets. I play the instruments and compose, Will plays the computer and handles the sonics. One of the things I like best about working together is that we’ve really learned how to keep our egos at the door. We are totally willing to give each other ALL manner of feedback and push each other to make better music than we ever could separately. We only had six fistfights during the four years we were making Insider Art.

Do you have a favorite family tradition?

Will: Every year we have the Bird Language Appreciation Dinner where we order a bunch of food and booze and celebrate the good things that happened to us that year and then write it all off on our taxes. Have to balance out all the complaining we do to each other every other night of the year!

What music was playing in your home when you were growing up? Has it influenced the music you are making as Bird Language?

Jake: My Dad is a wonderful jazz pianist - really wonderful - he’s way better at the piano than I am at anything I play. I remember as a kid listening to him play on the weekends. I don’t know how much attention I paid to the music at the time, but it definitely seeped into me and helped form my harmonic and melodic sensibilities. It also set my standards way too high - I thought everyone was mids because come on, my DAD could play that better.

I think this background led to Bird Language embracing really lush chords and harmonic variety. I had a bit of a breakthrough when we were working on Insider Art and became much more comfortable breaking out of the standard 4 chord song structure. I remember vividly writing in the house upstate and having it click that I could move chromatically between pretty much anywhere on the piano. It really helped the album become more nuanced and unique.

If you could only use 10 words for the rest of your life what would they be?

Will: I’m definitely about to overthink this, but I’d probably split the ten words between a few basic uses. One would be affirmative, one would be negative, four would be used to direct people to some alternate form of communication, like drawing diagrams or interpretive dance, and four would be for pure shock value so whenever I did say anything it would be the funniest shit anyone had ever heard. I would definitely study Harpo Marx to figure out how he was so funny without any words.

Do you have a piece of musical gear that you find yourself returning to often?

Jake: My instruments - specifically my weird Fender Telecaster and my Rickenbacker bass. Those are my two favorites and I’ve spent thousands of hours playing them. But we also used a whole pile of gear on Insider Art, everything from a microcassette recorder to upright bass to Fender Rhodes. Every song needed something slightly different.

Are you better at thumb wrestling or rock paper scissors? What’s your strategy?

Will: I’m alright at thumb wrestling but everyone cheats at it. Rock paper scissors is a great mind game. My strategy is to pick as randomly as possible and not be afraid to double or triple up -- usually it lets the other person outsmart themselves.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Will: If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will. No unforced errors. Onwards & upwards. Listen to Insider Art!

Jake: It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock & roll, and you have to make sure that you’re enjoying the journey. When you work all the time - worrying about rollouts, streams, etc, you can forget that you’re making music. And music is the best fucking thing in the world. I feel really lucky to get to work on something I love all the time. Slightly less lucky that it’s always with Will.