Joel Ford, one half of synth-pop master craftsmen Ford & Lopatin and formerly of soft-rockers Tigercity, is putting out his first EP under his solo Airbird moniker. ‘Trust’ is set for release on 19th May via Software, the Ford & Lopatin-run imprint of Mexican Summer. It follows up a couple of previous Airbird releases: ‘We Used To’ from earlier this year and his first 12” single ‘City vs Mountains’ from last summer. Listen to ‘Goodnight’ from the EP below.
The EP stems from Ford’s fixation on “the dichotomy of big city culture versus the solitude of the American wilderness”, promising “[o]blique rhythm schemes, computer-funk, and oceanic pop drift song” – and we can guarantee its brilliance. ‘Goodnight’ takes up some of the 80s analog synth sounds of Ford & Lopatin’s Channel Pressure, and adds echoey, half-heard vocals and a stuttering beat. We’ll also be interviewing Joel about his Airbird project around the release of the EP – watch this space.