The Birthdays (a collaboration between Ben Grey of Dear Boy & Jackson Phillips of Day Wave) have released their new single, “Baby Blur“. Listen to the song now below.
Ben Grey says, “‘Baby Blur’ was the birth of The Birthdays. The first glimpse of what this project could be. We finished it a week ago and it honestly can’t come out fast enough. It all seems like a Postal Service origin story, save for the fact that we agreed not to finish the songs until we could be in the same room together. I’ve never had a creative experience like this and it’s been nonstop joy. “
After touring with each other and becoming fast friends in 2017, the two started threatening to create something together when both their schedules would allow. In June of 2020, Ben began sending Jackson voice memos of song ideas and they talked about what a collaboration of theirs might sound like once they could physically be in the same studio.
The band’s debut single “Bunny” was recorded in the summer of 2021 at Jackson’s studio, the result of their very first session. “I think we were both just eager and curious to hear what a “Grey Wave” song would actually sound like. It’s its own fuzzy, melodic, interesting thing that I don’t think sounds like anything else happening right now.”
“We did a lot of conceptual world building before we broke any ground on the project… Not that we had any choice in the matter, but it actually ended up being a really cool way of approaching this thing,” says Grey. “Jackson and I have been good friends for a while but this is the first time we’ve started a piece of music from scratch. He’s a genius person, so it’s incredibly inspirational working with him.”
“We definitely have the songs and I’m hoping to release some of them before Dear Boy starts touring again in the fall,” adds Grey. “Regardless of when, there will be more music from The Birthdays. It’s too much fun to not keep doing.”
The Birthdays are finishing up songs for their debut EP and are currently planning their very first live dates. Let’s call it late spring. Invitations to follow. Additionally, Dear Boy will be releasing their debut full length with Last Gang Records & Day Wave is working on a follow up to 2020’s Crush EP.