Indie pop artist Regina Spektor has released a new single entitled “Birdsong,” today off of Sire Records and Warner Bros Records. The track was featured off the new critically acclaimed Amazon web series The Romanoffs.
“Birdsong,” appeared in the episode “Panorama,” off the new series, which is directed by Matthew Weiner, the artistic visionary behind the acclaimed television series Mad Men. This track follows a video released by Gogol Bordello and Spektor this year for the track “Seekers & Finders.”
The Romanoffs is an anthology series, following numerous groups of people who believed that they are descendants of the Russian royal family. Obsession over the family has been a common theme for over a century, with particular emphasis being placed on the family’s daughter Anastasia.
This track is a simple piece, composed of Spektor on guitar and vocals performing for a little under two minutes for the entire song. The song highlights Spektor’s voice witht he song dealing with themes of nature that tie into an emotional core.
Spektor has described her song writing process and method as “free,” highlighting that her composition method is less stringent that how other writers mat tackle theirs. Rather than focus on a direct message or theme, the songwriter lets various pieces influence her compositions.
“Maybe. It’s funny. I feel very free anyway. And I compose all the songs. It’s not like I’m jamming or changing them from night to night,” Spektor explained in an interview with azcentral.” It might just be little things, like taking a little bit more time with a certain moment where yeah, if there’s a bunch of musicians, you’re not gonna stretch it out or else you’re just gonna trick them and they’ll come in early, you know?”
This type of approach also takes a surreal and at times ephemeral tone, which are present in tracks such as “Birdsong.” The track’s brief length and vivid imagery gives a glimpse into the artist’s view.
“But when you’re by yourself, you can stretch time in a different way. Of course, you can talk to me after these shows because maybe what I’m remembering is not even real. Our minds are tricky like that,” she further elaborated “But it’s sort of like if you decide to invite a lot of people to a dinner party, it’s one kind of a night and then when you decide to invite just one person, it’s a different kind of night. And the fun thing is that you don’t have to choose. You can sometimes do one and sometimes do the other.”
Earlier this year the artist embarked on limited tour stretching across Australia all the way out to California during the summer. Her shows vary between the use of an entire band for certain songs and smaller solo pieces.
“Within my show, I’ve always had a few songs where the band leaves and I would just play by myself,” she explained on azcentral. ” And it was an interesting feeling. I really liked it. So I wanted to remember what it was like to play an entire show like that.”
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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