Multi-instrumentalist and acclaimed singer-songwriter, Janie Price, known professionally as Bird, has graced the music scene with her enchanting second single, โSheโs Like A Rainbowโ. This release is part of her eagerly awaited soundtrack album for the multi-award-nominated short film โWider Than the Skyโ. This acts as the follow-up to her previous single, โThe Tidesโ.
Co-written by Bird, herself, alongside Grammy Award-winning songwriter John Paul White (from The Civil Wars), whilst Mike Hedges produced it, โSheโs Like A Rainbowโ explores the gentle nuances of Americana, seamlessly flowing across the nearly three-minute duration of the track. Mixed by Pete Davis with orchestration coming from Sally Herbert, this new track sounds blissfully perfect to be a part of a film soundtrack, let alone one that Bird is a part of.
Birdโs eclectic musical range effortlessly weaves together Americana, electronic dream-pop, and contemporary folk, solidifying her status as a pioneering presence in both the music and film scoring spheres. Building on the triumph of her first single, โThe Tidesโ, โSheโs Like A Rainbowโ embarks on a sonic journey that defies traditional boundaries, showcasing Birdโs exceptional compositional style.
Reflecting upon her new single release, Bird expressed, โI wrote this in Japan with John Paul White. I had this funny little ukelele riff I played, Iโd literally just bought the uke from this enormous Yamaha store in Tokyo. It was such an exciting shop, like a giant chocolate box for musicians, packed full of weird and wonderful instruments.โ
She continued, โI already had a rough version of the lyrics written, itโs definitely semi-autobiographicalโฆ I think until now I wrote quite a bit about other peopleโs lives and stories, but now I feel itโs time to really write about myself and the things that deeply affect me personally.โ
โItโs also about the other women in my family: my grandmother, my mother and my daughter,โ she explained. โItโs about our similarities, our differences, the cyclical nature of life, and how we live on through the next generation and hold inside us the generations before us. Itโs also a song about how we connect with ourselves, how we are seen by the world around us and, ultimately, about the ghosts of our past and the hopes of our future.โ
The upcoming soundtrack album, titled โWider Than The Skyโ, serves as the musical companion to Birdโs dream-like semi-autobiographical short film. Exploring the complexities of human connections, the impact of childhood parental illness, the effect of potential looming bereavement on a child, and the extraordinary power of our imagination, โWider Than The Skyโ is set to bring in-depth visual storytelling, hitting on important topics. The film has already garnered accolades, going on to win several awards including โBest Composer/Soundtrackโ at the Global Music Awards, โBest Cinematographyโ at Bay Festival, UK, โBest Young Actressโ at the Birmingham Film Festival, and โBest Short Dramaโ at the prestigious Aviva/Performance Insurance Film Awards.
Birdโs inventive fusion of genres permeates the entire album, crafting a vibrant and emotionally evocative sonic landscape. The filmโs enchanting compositions intricately weave themselves into the visual narrative, accentuating the profound influence of imagination.
Talking about the film, Bird said, โI wanted to write a semi-autobiographical short film about a particular event from my childhood that I have in my other work as a songwriter touched upon often, but never explored from a true [narrative] and more visual perspective. Despite the inevitable trauma associated with seeing a parent seriously unwell as a young child, it was during this period that I also discovered the power of my own imagination to help me cope with what would otherwise have been a terrifying time. โ
To find out more information about โWider Than the Skyโ, you can visit their official website, alongside the release of the trailer, which you can also view below.
โSheโs Like A Rainbowโ, by Bird, is available to download and stream right now, across all platforms, via Pop Fiction Records.