Hollywood, CA (June 2, 2022)—Grammy-nominated musician, songwriter and composer Andrew Bird is about to release his new 11-song album, Inside Problems, which was tracked at United Recording in Hollywood with producer Mike Viola and recording engineer David Boucher.
Viola explained how he used the acoustics of the studios at United Recording: “United B is a special room; everybody I’ve ever worked with in that room is spoiled by its magic. While there are plenty of studios around town with world-class gear, there is something about the acoustics of that room that draws the ingredient X out of every performance.”
Bird is known for his unique style of violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and vocals. Viola continues, “I usually stay behind the glass when I cut records, but with Andrew, I played guitar and stayed on the floor in the small ensemble set up in a very tight circle with very minimal soundproofing between us. I don’t like to use headphones and we didn’t use any monitors; actually, the drummer needed a monitor whenever Andrew used a loop pedal, which he likes to do on a few songs. Other than that, it was live on the floor, straight to tape.”
Anne Bisson at United Recording
Viola elaborates on the recording sessions at United: “Second week, we did overdubs and filled out the strings with lush arrangements that once again the room helped color. There’s so many different rooms within studio B — small little iso rooms that used to be closets; there’s a haunted drum booth tucked away in the back that used to be the control room of TV Recorders, which is the full-size studio attached to United B that we had access to, as well as the main room. We took full advantage of every inch of space during week two, just experimenting with the acoustics.”
Inside Problems arrives June 3 via Loma Vista Recordings. Out now, the album’s lead single, “Underlands,” follows the recently released “Atomized,” which NPR Music says “transports listeners to a lush musical world.”
The new release is the latest step in Bird’s constantly evolving career, which includes cracking the Billboard Top 10 with “Break It Yourself,” earning a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album with 2019’s My Finest Work Yet, making his acting debut in FX series Fargo, scoring Judd Apatow’s new Netflix film, The Bubble, scoring the recent Peabody-nominated PBS documentary Storm Lake, and more.
