**Avalon Emerson x Bullion 'Happy Birthday' Interview — Transcript & Summary | SozAI**
Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/avalon-emerson-bullion-happy-birthday-interview/

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.

## What the video covers

- 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.

Answers

## Questions about this video

What is the main theme discussed about the song 'Happy Birthday'?

'Happy Birthday' explores feelings of vulnerability, life's uncertainties, and the importance of human connection, aiming to make listeners feel less alone.

How did Avalon Emerson and Bullion approach the production of 'Happy Birthday'?

They went through multiple versions and re-recordings, focusing on refining vocal delivery and balancing technical elements to preserve the song’s emotional authenticity.

Why is vulnerability important in music according to the interview?

Vulnerability allows listeners to connect directly with the emotions of the artists, creating a powerful and authentic experience that resonates deeply.

## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah, I I do think this whole album there was like,

00:03

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.

00:17

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.

00:34

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.

00:55

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like we can directly feel the people that are making this music.

00:56

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like that's why that's why we listen to music.

00:58

Speaker Avalon Emerson

So it feels maybe it feels uncomfortable for a moment.

01:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

But that that's the kind of thing you have to follow when you're making it.

01:03

Speaker Nathan

So what was that for you that discomfort?

01:08

Speaker Nathan

Was that a particular thing with happy birthday?

01:12

Speaker Nathan

Where you felt that you were bearing something that was.

01:15

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah, a little bit.

01:16

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You know.

01:17

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like.

01:21

Speaker Avalon Emerson

I think that it's like to a big extent, it's like a universal feeling of like.

01:31

Speaker Avalon Emerson

This like, is this it kind of feeling where you're like.

01:41

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Um, you know.

01:43

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.

01:54

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And stuff doesn't work out and you're like, maybe this is it, you know.

02:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like, we never know how much longer we've got on this earth.

02:04

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And, you know, I didn't get to do all the things I wanted to do.

02:10

Speaker Avalon Emerson

But there was a lot of things that were really positive.

02:13

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And, you know, you kind of remember that you're also not alone.

02:21

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.

02:31

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And.

02:33

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah, keeping that close and realizing that that is the that is the main thing.

02:41

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And so it was like kind of.

02:45

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Saying this kind of saying this kind of message is yeah, it feels it feels vulnerable.

02:53

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And um, but yeah, it's like that's that's also the goal of music.

03:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like make you feel like you're not alone.

03:04

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And you can connect with certain stories and emotions and even if it's.

03:13

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.

03:24

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You know.

03:25

Speaker Avalon Emerson

A story or whatever and it's using like proper nouns that like you don't personally have a history with.

03:30

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Or it's these more generic like, you know.

03:37

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Too young to die, too old to break through.

03:40

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like who.

03:41

Speaker Avalon Emerson

We all feel that at some point.

03:42

Speaker Avalon Emerson

But we still have.

03:44

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You know, the people that we go through it with.

03:48

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

03:50

Speaker Nathan

Wow, that's I love that.

03:52

Speaker Nathan

It's great to hear you talking about the song in that way.

03:56

Speaker Nathan

Because I guess yeah, I was I was.

04:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Same.

04:01

Speaker Nathan

Was me, I've I've never thought about the sort of full meaning of that song.

04:07

Speaker Nathan

But um.

04:11

Speaker Nathan

Because a lot of it I hear is one liners almost rather than tying together as a as a full.

04:19

Speaker Nathan

Narrative.

04:20

Speaker Nathan

Which is maybe just the way I listen to.

04:23

Speaker Nathan

A lot of songs in general, actually.

04:26

Speaker Nathan

I've always loved like songs where there's just imagery or.

04:31

Speaker Nathan

You know, kind of.

04:35

Speaker Nathan

Line to line, you're getting a different feeling.

04:41

Speaker Nathan

And um.

04:44

Speaker Nathan

But yeah, that line is so good, too young to die, too old to break through.

04:50

Speaker Nathan

It's great.

04:51

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Not that that's what we're here to do is just pat you on the back for your.

04:52

Speaker Nathan

No.

04:53

Speaker Avalon Emerson

I just.

04:54

Speaker Nathan

I've included.

04:55

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Nate as another Nathan.

04:56

Speaker Nathan

Um.

04:58

Speaker Nathan

Wow, but yeah, he really latched on to that.

05:01

Speaker Nathan

That line as being like, that's the, you know.

05:07

Speaker Nathan

Got to kind of go towards that line.

05:10

Speaker Nathan

And um.

05:13

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

05:15

Speaker Nathan

It's interesting.

05:16

Speaker Nathan

Interesting to think of all the different rooms we've heard that song in as well.

05:21

Speaker Nathan

All the different locations and.

05:24

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah, playing that and like kind of talking through and working through it with Nate was also.

05:31

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.

05:41

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You know.

05:43

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.

05:53

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Like that.

05:55

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You know, we've spent so many hours and like, you know, words discussing it.

06:01

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And then you kind of sometimes pass over the most resonant parts of things.

06:08

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

06:09

Speaker Nathan

Those are valuable lessons, aren't they?

06:11

Speaker Nathan

For a certain point.

06:13

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And it's also scary too because it's like maybe they would kick out your favorite part.

06:20

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

06:21

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And or highlight something that we didn't also agree on.

06:27

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

06:28

Speaker Avalon Emerson

But when when we all do.

06:30

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like that's that's something to pay attention to and worth following.

06:34

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And I think that this song is yeah, in its final form now.

06:39

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And I I love it.

06:41

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

06:42

Speaker Nathan

And that the last um, I'm trying to remember the last bit of recording we did.

06:47

Speaker Nathan

What was the drums probably, wasn't it?

06:49

Speaker Nathan

In.

06:51

Speaker Avalon Emerson

In LA.

06:53

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

06:54

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Is that right?

06:55

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah.

06:56

Speaker Nathan

Did we do, did we record more beyond that?

06:58

Speaker Nathan

We might have done some more vocal stuff of mine.

07:00

Speaker Nathan

But I think that.

07:01

Speaker Avalon Emerson

I think I re-recorded happy birthday here.

07:03

Speaker Nathan

Oh, that's right.

07:04

Speaker Nathan

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

07:05

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.

07:16

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

07:17

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like a better with like a better performance of it.

07:21

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.

07:31

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.

07:39

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And you know.

07:40

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Sitting sitting with it for a while and be like, I it should sound different in certain ways.

07:46

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Of just like the delivery and yeah.

07:50

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Like doing that over the course of the recording, I think that was also like a.

07:58

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Because it's like I love this song.

08:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

I love the song so much.

08:01

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And it was like, it was such a, it was like, you know.

08:05

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You have this idea ideal of what the song could be.

08:11

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.

08:19

Speaker Avalon Emerson

I think the I think the kick drum is weird.

08:21

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Or like, you know.

08:23

Speaker Avalon Emerson

This reverb tail is too long.

08:25

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Or whatever.

08:27

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Or we need a harmony here.

08:28

Speaker Avalon Emerson

But like sometimes it's it's opaque of what it needs.

08:33

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

08:34

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And like this is an example of a song that was like was opaque in its needs for a while.

08:39

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

08:40

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.

08:46

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And I was like, okay, it can be truly, truly amazing.

08:50

Speaker Avalon Emerson

And so it's just like shaving off and like molding it.

08:55

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Along the way.

08:56

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

08:57

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Is it's hard and it's delicate and you don't want to ruin it.

09:00

Speaker Avalon Emerson

You know.

09:01

Speaker Nathan

So it's.

09:02

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah, yeah.

09:04

Speaker Avalon Emerson

But I'm I'm I feel I feel great about.

09:07

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Where it ended up being and.

09:10

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

09:11

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Yeah, most everyone that I show have shown it to.

09:18

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Like at the label or whoever else.

09:21

Speaker Avalon Emerson

It's like quite a strong reaction to.

09:23

Speaker Avalon Emerson

So it's.

09:25

Speaker Nathan

Yeah.

09:26

Speaker Avalon Emerson

Seems like seems like a job well done.

Topics: Avalon Emerson Bullion Happy Birthday music interview songwriting vulnerability in music music production emotional connection creative process music collaboration

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