Daily Doses: Blackbird Blackbird “Summer Heart” (2010)
In every collaboration, we ultimately lose some element of the original version. Be it work, art, or personal relationships, adding another person into the mix inevitably changes something, if not everything.
Now this is not to say this is a bad thing. As many bands vs. solo projects have shown, having people to temper and counterpoint your artistic approach with their own has the potential to create something far grander than either of you could have created independently.
Still, the concept of the hermit, walking down the mountain with his unadulterated vision carved upon a stone tablet, letting judgement of it’s contents fall solely on his shoulders is a heady one. So every year more and more people go it alone, and every year so many crumble under the weight of the collective judgement, lost to a sea of criticism.
That’s not the only part of the journey either. Artists today need to be so much more than just artists. They need to be entrepreneurs, one man businesses that can create, package, promote, and sell a project all on their own. Well, you end up with a pretty steep path to carry those tablets down.
So it’s great to see someone not just surviving that journey, but reveling in it.
Mikey of Blackbird Blackbird has been killing the tumblr scene for the past couple months with his synth masterpieces including “Pure” “Hawaii” “Sunspray” and the Happy High EP. In themselves, these gorgeous pieces would probably be impressive enough to warrant attention. But when you combine that with the enthusiastic willingness and urge to share with and include everyone he comes in contact with, be it other bands, bloggers, or just the casual interested listener, you have something you just can’t ignore:
One man’s unadulterated vision. Lovingly created, dutifully packaged, enthusiastically promoted, and digitally delivered in stunning two to three minute increments.
Download the entire Blackbird Blackbird catalog for free on Bandcamp
