Birds of Play is a musical collaboration born from a mutual love of desert canyons, raging rivers, rocky mountaintops, and juice picnics. After many years of gatherings that have revolved around adventuring by day and playing tunes around campfires by night, the time has come for the birds to leave the nest and share their music with the world
With a dynamic mix of sentimentality and playfulness, Birds of Play’s original music will take you on a joyous journey filled with tales of love lost and found, ballads of wild places, and the radical idea that being happy for no reason at all is reason enough.”
On February 11th, the band will release their new album Murmurations, Vol. 2, and today Glide is excited to premiere the standout track “Blues and Reds.” Backed by soft bluegrass instrumentation, the song feels like a rumination on small town life and enjoying the simple joys in life, including love. Musically, the song takes a subtle yet emotionally moving approach to composing the song. Each member contributes delicate layers of acoustic playing to make for a song that feels textured and warm. The band’s combination of folk, bluegrass, and Americana backed by pleasant vocals and heartfelt lyrics make “Blues and Reds” a worthy listen.
Band member Alex Paul describes the inspiration and process behind writing the song:
I (Alex Paul) wrote Blues and Reds on a couch in a small house in Downtown Durango for Telluride Bluegrass Festival’s Songwriter Competition about 10 years ago (I got honorable mention). I’m currently living back in that same house which is a wild aside.
I sat down that day to write a song specifically for the competition with no idea of what I was going to write about. This song just poured out of me. I think this particular song really speaks to the idea that we as songwriters are merely mediums or conduits. I very much feel as though this song existed in the mysterious place where all music comes from and that I was just in the right place and space and to bring it to life in this realm.
And all these years later it’s still one of my favorite songs to play and sing.
LISTEN:
