Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Niklas Zeiner
M. Byrd chatted with NYOTA about recording the song “Morning Sun” in his childhood bedroom and creating a chain of passion when people discover his music via Spotify.
Did you listen to a particular song or see a certain musician perform that made you realize you wanted to pursue music?
When I was younger there was a bar in a town near us and there were some older guys covering B.B. King songs. I knew his music through my grandpa but actually witnessing people playing these songs on a stage still sticks with me and still makes me realize how much I love the energy of a live performance.
Your song “Mountain” has had over 2 million streams on Spotify. Has Spotify played an integral role in you finding an audience?
To some degree. I think it helps to know how to get a song into the right channels and there are people who know about that way better than me. But after all, it mostly depends on the passion, craft and most importantly fun that went into writing and recording the songs. I like the idea of creating a chain of passion – if I enjoy making something with my band, all the people working with the song later will be passionate about it too. And in the end the song reaches people who are (apparently) passionate about it too. Win – win situation for everyone haha.
What inspired the lyrics and sound of “Morning Sun?”
I started playing around with the nylon guitar intro for quite some time – actually six years. I woke up one morning and played it in a very long loop and I realized I couldn’t get enough of playing it. So I kept on playing it as a sort of mantra for these years. “Morning Sun” was mainly recorded in my childhood room and therefore the recording focuses a lot on creating an ambience and has to deal with the imperfections of my restricted recording equipment when I recorded it. We added some drums by André and extra guitars in Eugen Koop’s studio and I finally wrote down the lyrics that I had flying around. We wanted everything in the song to feel sort of “circular” and I think we best succeeded in the first verse. It’s like a prayer that you can’t get tired of.
When it came to creating the music video for “Morning Sun” how creatively involved were you in that process?
I like to disconnect myself from the idea of M. Byrd being solely a “solo project” but more of an art project that everyone who gets involved in it gets room to explore. Marcel Izquierdo Torres, Nana Anine Joergensen, and Rose Marie Lindstroem were up to do that and started using that room when we traveled to Normandy. We were not really sure what was actually going to happen there but things naturally turned into what the music videos are today. Again, this is a chain of enjoyment. Everyone involved in the video was truly curious to discover what comes of the way we work together and think that shows in the videos. I have learned so much from the people involved and I have such high respect for the work they did.
During this weird COVID time how have you been keeping yourself feeling creative and motivated to make music?
Ride my bike, hang out with my dog, talk to Nana and my friends about how everything pisses me off and then realizing that everything will be ok. Oh and my friend Martin’s new little studio and his exploring energy has been helping as well.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
Go for it. Enjoy every part of it, even the parts that you don’t seem to enjoy. As much as you can! And when you seem to not enjoy anything at all go out and get a vegan hot dog or something and see your friends. Making music, even if you’re only starting is a gift that will never leave you.