Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah, I I do think this whole album there was like,
Avalon Emerson and Bullion discuss the vulnerability and emotional depth behind the song 'Happy Birthday' in this insightful interview.
Key Takeaways
- Vulnerability in music creates a direct emotional connection with listeners.
- 'Happy Birthday' reflects universal themes of life's uncertainties and the value of relationships.
- The creative process is iterative, involving emotional and technical refinement.
- Collaboration brings new insights that enhance the emotional depth of a song.
- Authenticity and emotional honesty are crucial for impactful music.
Summary
- Avalon Emerson and Bullion explore the emotional vulnerability expressed in the album, especially in the song 'Happy Birthday'.
- The song captures universal feelings of uncertainty, reflection on life, and the importance of human connection.
- They discuss how music connects people through raw, unfiltered emotions without abstraction.
- The phrase 'too young to die, too old to break through' is highlighted as a resonant and meaningful lyric.
- The creative process involved multiple versions, re-recordings, and refining vocal delivery for emotional impact.
- They emphasize the challenge of shaping a song that feels authentic and powerful without losing its essence.
- Collaboration and fresh perspectives, such as input from Nate, helped identify key emotional elements in the song.
- The final version of 'Happy Birthday' received strong positive reactions from the label and others involved.
- The interview reveals the delicate balance between technical production and emotional storytelling in music.
- Both artists reflect on the importance of connection and shared human experience as central to music’s purpose.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker Avalon Emerson
which I didn't feel as much on the first one where it was like these like flashes of feeling like very vulnerable and like, oh, I'm very like, I'm kind of like showing.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
The feeling that you're like showing your cards and that it's kind of uncomfortable feeling and then like coming to the conclusion and awareness that like this is what it's supposed to be.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And this is like the task that you should do and like that's how people connect with music is when you can feel the vulnerability through the songs and not having like a layer of abstraction or a layer of third party ness.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like we can directly feel the people that are making this music.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like that's why that's why we listen to music.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
So it feels maybe it feels uncomfortable for a moment.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But that that's the kind of thing you have to follow when you're making it.
Speaker Nathan
So what was that for you that discomfort?
Speaker Nathan
Was that a particular thing with happy birthday?
Speaker Nathan
Where you felt that you were bearing something that was.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah, a little bit.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I think that it's like to a big extent, it's like a universal feeling of like.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
This like, is this it kind of feeling where you're like.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Um, you know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I'm here, I've lived however long and there have been some upsides, but like also a lot of like disappointments.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And stuff doesn't work out and you're like, maybe this is it, you know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like, we never know how much longer we've got on this earth.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And, you know, I didn't get to do all the things I wanted to do.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But there was a lot of things that were really positive.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And, you know, you kind of remember that you're also not alone.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And that the people around you are the not just the most important thing, but it's like it's the only thing that we have.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah, keeping that close and realizing that that is the that is the main thing.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And so it was like kind of.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Saying this kind of saying this kind of message is yeah, it feels it feels vulnerable.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And um, but yeah, it's like that's that's also the goal of music.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like make you feel like you're not alone.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And you can connect with certain stories and emotions and even if it's.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like you hopefully you can connect with it whether it's really specific and it's like somebody's very specific talking about a very specific point.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
A story or whatever and it's using like proper nouns that like you don't personally have a history with.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Or it's these more generic like, you know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Too young to die, too old to break through.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like who.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
We all feel that at some point.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But we still have.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You know, the people that we go through it with.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Nathan
Wow, that's I love that.
Speaker Nathan
It's great to hear you talking about the song in that way.
Speaker Nathan
Because I guess yeah, I was I was.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Same.
Speaker Nathan
Was me, I've I've never thought about the sort of full meaning of that song.
Speaker Nathan
But um.
Speaker Nathan
Because a lot of it I hear is one liners almost rather than tying together as a as a full.
Speaker Nathan
Narrative.
Speaker Nathan
Which is maybe just the way I listen to.
Speaker Nathan
A lot of songs in general, actually.
Speaker Nathan
I've always loved like songs where there's just imagery or.
Speaker Nathan
You know, kind of.
Speaker Nathan
Line to line, you're getting a different feeling.
Speaker Nathan
And um.
Speaker Nathan
But yeah, that line is so good, too young to die, too old to break through.
Speaker Nathan
It's great.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Not that that's what we're here to do is just pat you on the back for your.
Speaker Nathan
No.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I just.
Speaker Nathan
I've included.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Nate as another Nathan.
Speaker Nathan
Um.
Speaker Nathan
Wow, but yeah, he really latched on to that.
Speaker Nathan
That line as being like, that's the, you know.
Speaker Nathan
Got to kind of go towards that line.
Speaker Nathan
And um.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Nathan
It's interesting.
Speaker Nathan
Interesting to think of all the different rooms we've heard that song in as well.
Speaker Nathan
All the different locations and.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah, playing that and like kind of talking through and working through it with Nate was also.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I think that at that point you and I had gone through it so many different times and we played in like many different versions of it.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And hearing a like a separate set of ears like really lock on to one part of it, you're like, oh yeah, now that I think about it like you're right.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Like that.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You know, we've spent so many hours and like, you know, words discussing it.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And then you kind of sometimes pass over the most resonant parts of things.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Nathan
Those are valuable lessons, aren't they?
Speaker Nathan
For a certain point.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And it's also scary too because it's like maybe they would kick out your favorite part.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And or highlight something that we didn't also agree on.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But when when we all do.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like that's that's something to pay attention to and worth following.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And I think that this song is yeah, in its final form now.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And I I love it.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Nathan
And that the last um, I'm trying to remember the last bit of recording we did.
Speaker Nathan
What was the drums probably, wasn't it?
Speaker Nathan
In.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
In LA.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Is that right?
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah.
Speaker Nathan
Did we do, did we record more beyond that?
Speaker Nathan
We might have done some more vocal stuff of mine.
Speaker Nathan
But I think that.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I think I re-recorded happy birthday here.
Speaker Nathan
Oh, that's right.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Because we just had like some demo stuff or like old stuff and then I recorded it in New York and then sent you the new vocals.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like a better with like a better performance of it.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Because it's like as you're as you're writing the songs, sometimes the first couple times you say a phrase or a line.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like maybe you're still like in your head like trying to find where you're putting emphasis and syllables and breathing and everything.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And you know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Sitting sitting with it for a while and be like, I it should sound different in certain ways.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Of just like the delivery and yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Like doing that over the course of the recording, I think that was also like a.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Because it's like I love this song.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I love the song so much.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And it was like, it was such a, it was like, you know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You have this idea ideal of what the song could be.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And like sometimes it's an easy checklist that you can go through, you're like, okay, we just have to like.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
I think the I think the kick drum is weird.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Or like, you know.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
This reverb tail is too long.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Or whatever.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Or we need a harmony here.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But like sometimes it's it's opaque of what it needs.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And like this is an example of a song that was like was opaque in its needs for a while.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But as it came together, it was like, it was kind of stressful because I felt like it was a very important song.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And I was like, okay, it can be truly, truly amazing.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
And so it's just like shaving off and like molding it.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Along the way.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Is it's hard and it's delicate and you don't want to ruin it.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
You know.
Speaker Nathan
So it's.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
But I'm I'm I feel I feel great about.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Where it ended up being and.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Yeah, most everyone that I show have shown it to.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Like at the label or whoever else.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
It's like quite a strong reaction to.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
So it's.
Speaker Nathan
Yeah.
Speaker Avalon Emerson
Seems like seems like a job well done.
Topics:Avalon EmersonBullionHappy Birthdaymusic interviewsongwritingvulnerability in musicmusic productionemotional connectioncreative processmusic collaboration
