Aussie artist Birdee wants to ‘spread love, goodness and understanding’

MANILA, Philippines — A singer-songwriter from Down Under recently made a sojourn to Manila for a series of shows to introduce her artistry to Filipinos. Such a stopover was part of her Southeast Asian tour.

A note from Spotify says “her signature breezy lyrical style weaves a balance of vulnerability and courage in immersive-pop tunes that resonate with diverse audiences.”

And a listener easily appreciates her clear stance, that of a performer and storyteller.

Her name is Birdee, born and raised in Australia with a lineage of Chinese, Greek, and Russian. As an artist, she wants to spread positivity and bring people together through music.

“I’m just really, really excited about this particular tour,” said she in a virtual group interview for her then performances in such venues as Arcana Lounge and Venice Grand Canal Mall,  “because I feel coming from, you know, an Asian background, with my mom being Malaysian-Chinese, I feel, like, I’m being able to reach, you know, to people, who, you know, are part of, like, my culture and who I can connect with and resonate with, and just reach out to. I also think it’s just great, for me personally because I feel like I can get in touch and connect with myself, you know, who I am as a person as well as as an artist.”

What drives Birdee to create music, with songs as concrete products of it, is the intention to connect with people, help and resonate with them “and (a music that) makes them feel like they are understood and that they’re not alone,” said she. “I think that’s what it is.”

In relation to that is the artist’s identity she would like new listeners see and appreciate.

“I think I want Birdee’s identity to be known as an artist who just wants to spread love and goodness and understanding, and connection to all kinds of people, no matter what race or gender or anything like that. I think her identity is just to spread positivity and you know bring people together as one.”

As for her music style, she said that it “ranges from alternative indie pop to electronic pop as I’m very big on, you know, branching out, expanding and getting out of my comfort zone in terms of making different styles and genre songs.”

Proof to that eclectic style is the recently released tune, Best Mistake I Never Made.

“It’s a little bit of EDM kind of electronic pop, whereas most of my songs are kind of alternative indie pop or just electronic pop,” said the singer.

The ditty came into being when Birdee first went on a solo traveling to the US and UK. She went to England and collaborated “with a couple of amazing producers,” shared the artist. “The idea and the meaning of the song came from I guess like a past relationship, a past situation I had with a guy. I knew that it wasn’t going to work out and he wanted, you know, a second chance, but I never gave it to him.”

“I knew at that time in my life I needed to choose me and to have those healthy boundaries of, you know, saying to him, ‘No. This one will never work out,’ and I need to respect myself more than, you know, falling for him again and I guess giving in those emotions. So, that’s what the song is essentially about,” she continued on.

When it comes to verses and choruses, the song has more short and sweet ones, said Birdee. They are straight to the point.

“A lot of my music is very metaphorical, figurative with a lot of underlying messages in it,” added she, whose sources of inspiration for her would-be songs are varied.

“I get inspired by a lot of experiences that I have in life, people that I meet, conversations that have been being exchanged,” said she. “I like to travel a lot. So, I meet a lot, you know, of different people and I love to learn about their stories and their journeys. I think I also get inspiration from my own personal experiences, so like my feelings and emotions, and realizations that I had throughout life. I think that’s what really inspires and motivates my songs.”

Regarding her process of making songs, Birdee said, “It really depends on the producers and artists I work with. So, I purely like to go off their energy, you know, and how they work as an artist, and just bounce off from them, so if they like to work on the production side first, we go on that and then we go to the composition and songwriting side or vice versa.”

As artists expand their reach and base, they can’t help but meet other creatives, who can be potential partners for future collabs.

Asked if she is open to the idea of working with Filipino artists, Birdee answered, “Yes, definitely, I’m not as familiar with the Filipino music industry here as of yet. I mean I’ve only been here for the first day now. I’ve been told so many amazing Filipino artists here that I’m really, really interested to collaborate with. So, I’m always open towards that and I would love to work with a lot of Filipino artists here.”

As a music creative, Birdee is not just a singer-performer, but also a composer. She enjoys straddling among these related identities and fields.

“I think I love both equally. I have naturally always been a performer since the age of three as I used to play piano and dance since then. So, being on stage has been such a second nature and a comfortable thing for me. I would say that I love composing and being on stage equally,” concluded she.

(For details about Birdee, visit her Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts.)