LITLBIRD talks life and TEFLON_exe

One man bringing us consistent movements. LITLBIRD catches up with us on his story so far.

Hey man! It's been a minute. I've just been listening to your latest release 'TEFLON_exe' and I'm well and truly impressed, but we'll get into that later. First off let's hear your story. Where did it all begin for you?

Hello, thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my ideas and tell a little bit of my story. To answer your first question, I would have to say my story begins at the age of ten when I was hit by a car on Pch and suffered a traumatic brain injury. From that experience I had grown a deep need to express my feelings through different mediums including sculpture, paintings, poetry and percussion.

From there it was a natural progression to start toying with different software in the computer lab in school. I attended a small private school in the woods of northern Ca called Nonesuch, alongside artists you may know as Shlump and Proko where I got fascinated with sound design. From there, a long winding road of different aliases, styles, a three year jazz apprenticeship with SF based composer Maestro Curtis, and many different instruments have led me to LITLBIRD. A three year old baby that I hope matures into a soaring falcon.

That's so cool man, One thing I really admire is that you've always stayed true to your sound whilst keeping it interesting for the listeners, what kind of tools/software are you using these days?

First off, thank you so much, that’s something I always strive for with my music. In regards to my arsenal, Ableton is and has always been my preferred DAW due to the workflow, top notch stock effects, instruments, and resampling capabilities. Alongside Ableton I use Fm8, Serum, Trash, Omnisphere, lots of Fab tools and Max for live. I have gotten into a habit of using Max for live for everything I would use stock Ableton effects for because it has much more manipulation and personality. One last thing to mention is that resampling is often a last step in sound design for me and that my methods are always changing.

So onto your latest release.... TEFLON_exe is something else. Care to share with us your thought process in how you approached these 2 tracks?

Funny enough, these two tracks are actually a part of a five track tangent I wrote exactly a year ago. I usually write music in groups of four to five songs, and before I choose the music I choose the titles and design direction. Which basically means I get a word stuck in my head and start creating the EP or Single around a title and artwork idea then I go through my dubs and find something that fits or write something for the characteristics (haha).

It’s hard to say, but I’m pretty sure when writing these tracks I had just found a new way to use Max for Live’s “Comb filter” and basically added it to as much in the songs as possible. Also worth noting, I was doing my take on the generic “Trap” style of 2018. Lmao sounds weird when I’m writing it but this is my process.

What artists are you listening to right now?

Lately I have been listening to.... Sufjan Stevens, L. Pierre, Lorn, Ivy Lab, Jon Hopkins, Gray Area, Chee, John Prine, Serpentwithfeet, Toro i Moi, James Blake, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Radiohead, Grouper, Nicolas Jar, OPN, TTV, Dead Crow, Cigarettes after Sex, Portishead, Blonde Redhead, Skope, Little Snake, Kursa, and Yunis. Wow this list could go on but this should paint a pretty accurate picture of my jams of lately.

Such a heavy list. Can we expect something from yourself in the coming months?

I can't say too much, but to give a few crumbs I will be doing a rebrand, dropping some merch, dropping some singles, playing some big shows in and out of state, and writing as much new music as possible. Definitely keep me in your radar and expect some exciting things!