With huge amounts of praise and acclaim for his recent shared efforts, Birmingham’s WEIRDO has now returned to deliver his captivating dark-pop offering ‘CAN’T WITHOUT YOU’.
Co-written alongside Alexander Tidebrink aka A7S, best known for his work on Topic’s platinum hit ‘Breaking Me’, ‘CAN’T WITHOUT YOU’ looks to showcase the best within his diverse sound. Creating a warm and atmospheric vibe throughout, this new release will also feature on his upcoming mixtape ‘A MIXTAPE FOR HEARTBREAK’, which is set to land very soon.
So with so much love already heading his way, we joined him for a quick chat to find out more about his direction and what we can expect from him in the near future.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Chris) Hi WEIRDO, how are you today?
Weirdo) Hola. I am doing and being good! How are you LITM?
Very good thanks! For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
Well to be honest with you, that’s my least favourite question as I don’t really like fitting into genres. My music is so broad in terms of my production style and songwriting. I can go from a 50s contemporary ballad to a pop/rnb track within the space of an hour. This is probably why it’s difficult for the industry to understand me as an artist especially the robots and algorithm thinking humanoids over at DSPs.
The biggest influences for me range between Lennon/McCartney and Burt Bacharach from a songwriting POV, and artists such as Radiohead, Vulfpeck or Love Supreme from a production and soundscape POV.
I like quirky stuff but I also like classical stuff so it merges in the middle and creates a clusterfuck of music… that I rather like!
And what would you say has been your biggest moment in music so far?
I was previously in a project signed to Sony and had a Billboard #1 but for me, I prefer the indie life and way of art.
It was a good moment but now, I’m happy being someone that’s still to be discovered, other than a buzz act that rises and falls quicker than Cryptos.
You are also based in Birmingham. Has living in the city inspired your music in any way?
I am based in Birmingham and spent a lot of time in Berlin and Brighton the past few years. Brum is in my roots; every time I’m there, I feel myself being influenced by the working class environment I grew up in. I love it.
You have just released your new single ‘CAN’T WITHOUT YOU’. Can you tell us how that track came about? Is there a story behind it?
I was in a writing session with a friend, Alexander Tidebrink who’s famed for his worldwide hit with Topic (under A7S). We wrote it in a few hours and it was very natural. At the time I was coming to the end of a long relationship that was fading out and lyrically, it just fell out of me. With Alex’s help, we produced a small demo and I went home and re-produced / mixed the track.
And was there a particular style you were looking for when you wrote it?
I didn’t really go looking for a style. I just played with musical toys and vibed.
On the mixtape, you’ll see the difference between production styles per song. I’m a bit of a wild card perhaps.
It is also lifted from your new mixtape/LP ‘A MIXTAPE FOR HEARTBREAK’. Can you tell us what we can expect from that?
Expect darkness and vibes.
And what was the main process that went into writing it?
This is the ten track LP that I created. It’s a cauldron of songs written between as early as 2008 and 2020. I recorded it all in a small cold apartment in Berlin, in an extremely alone and strange place in my life.
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
Well. The mixtape, a few singles, a music video or two or three, and possibly a gig or two. I’m not focusing on live just yet though…
And finally, what is the best piece of musical advice you have ever been given?
Never stop. Make art.