November 1, 2019
Blackbird Blackbird
Mikey Maramag is the Los Angeles-based electronic artist known as Blackbird Blackbird. His envelops you with fuzzy warm electro textures, like a cozy sonic womb sheltering you from heartache and life struggles. The songs conjure the blissed-out pop of 1980s new wave, but the chillwave production aesthetic is sharply modern. Today, Blackbird Blackbird announce its third official album, Hearts; a 10-song collection that grapples with heartbreak and love. Since 2010, Mikey has released two official albums, two demo long-playing compilations, and two EPs. His debut, Summer Heart, is a critically-acclaimed chillwave classic. Blackbird Blackbird has been favorably featured on The Hype Machine and XLR8R, and charted on Billboard's Top 100 Dance/Electronic. Seeding the way to his latest release, he put out the single "Hearts" in October 2017, and, in less than a year, the song accrued over 4 million plays. Blackbird Blackbird has toured extensively nationally and internationally, supporting indie band STRFKR, Baths and Braids, and Grammy-nominated electronic music composer TOKiMONSTA. Mikey has also embarked on two U.S. headline tours, including one with UK electro-pop artist Chad Valley. In addition, Blackbird Blackbird has played Lightning in a Bottle Festival (Nicolas Jaar, Tycho, Rusko, Emancipator), and the legendary Swedish festival Hultsfred Festival (Morrissey, Crystal Castles, Cut Copy, Primal Scream, The Tallest Man on Earth, Foster The People). Blackbird Blackbird's latest, Hearts, grapples with heartbreak and love. Highlights on the 10-song album include "Lifestream," "Myself," "Hearts," and "The Saddest Song." The album opens gently with "Lifestream" which is delicately beautiful, melding spare etherealness with densely active beats. The song's evocative musicality, according, to Mikey is meant to conjure a post-apocalyptic world with imaging of eerily overgrown plants and flowers. The crooning vocals and sublime new wave ambience of "Myself" bespeaks Mikey's love of 1980s music. "That's me channeling Morrissey or Robert Smith. It's a self-deprecating dark wave song about me coming to terms with my faults and shortcomings to help people understand why I can be an asshole," he says, laughing good-naturedly. The single "Hearts" is an electro epic with an adventurous peaks and valleys arrangement. The playfully-titled "The Saddest Song" is an infectious dose of electro-pop that is a further nod to Mikey's long love of winsome 1980s music. Releasing music professionally has been something of "living the life unlived" for Mikey. "You have to push forward with what makes you happy even though there are challenges," he says. "For me, music has been a way to combat negative emotions and hardships, and be a better person."