“Mountain Bird is a project rooted in honesty…sharply melodic but with heart-tugging inflections” – CLASH
“His style is brave and consistent as he forms lyrics that force you to think about the state of our society and human relationships in relation to social media” – Notion
Swedish singer, songwriter and producer Mountain Bird (aka Adam Öhman) is set to release his long awaited new EP ‘Once We Were Present’ on 2nd April via Nettwerk Records. The EP contains four previously released songs, plus the brand new lead single ‘Something Wrong with My Mind’.
Analysing the intoxicating effects of the internet age, ‘Once We Were Present’ marks Öhman’s continuing growth into an introspective songwriter who enjoys exploring the human condition just as much as making people dance. “So many people have this abusive relationship with social media, which takes over their lives just like a regular drug addiction does,” Explains Mountain Bird. “With this new EP, I wanted to question whether it currently has too big of a grip over our lives. I hope these songs show people that the internet is a tool we must respect and that we shouldn’t be embracing at the expense of enjoying our youth.”
Despite tackling some heavy subjects, the EP is laced with optimism; with its expansive arrangements of synth pads, stadium ready drums, and ethereal vocals – delivering huge, momentous atmospheres. It’s a recipe that’s summed in the EP’s lead track ‘Something Wrong With My Mind’. Written about the paranoia that comes from turning down all the “digital noise” to go to sleep, afraid to face the real feelings you’ve kept at bay with the “mental fast food” of social media. Once again, the song’s electro-pop theatrics find light among the darkness.
The song is accompanied by an intense video, co-directed by Mountain Bird and long-time collaborator Erik Erik Ögnelooh. “The video is about humans existing only to pay bills and serve growth” explains Mountain Bird, “Modern man together with technology and its effect on the speed of society isn’t only good or bad – it really alters our way of thinking internally as well.The video is inspired by the presence of AI in advertising, and how our digital imprint only works to serve the engine to make us purchase things and behave accordingly, otherwise we have no use in this digital world ”
In the clip, they play with the idea of Mountain Bird deactivating his facebook account, and the algorithm doing everything in its power to keep him there. “When i’ve done it. I couldn’t live a normal life and be connected with everyone else in the same way since everyone is using it. The algorithms have already socially designed our lives for us to be dependent on it to feed it more attention. Hence the character has cut the cord to the television but it still hovers over us because it is in our analog world all around us inside the ones who are still plugged in.”
The EP’s powerful lyrics are designed to symbolise how a lot of internet addiction is fuelled by the insecurity of its users, and Mountain Bird hopes that his music can act as a sort of “group therapy” for listeners.
“I wrote these songs for stadiums, and the idea is that by talking about such sensitive subjects, I can encourage young people to cathartically talk about their fears around the internet too,” Öhman explains. “It is in our nature to be eaten up by our need for confirmation and I want people to consider whether the internet is really bringing out the best in us. If one person can feel stronger or more free to discuss their fears around cultivating an online identity or feel free from all those digital pressures by listening to my song then my mission is complete.”
“The colours and the community that the internet gives us are beautiful things, and I wanted that joy to come across in the music too. This EP is about showing all of the different sides of the internet in the hope that it will make people make much more informed decisions about their relationship with it.”
‘Once We Were Present’ is a manifestation of all the techniques Öhman has learned since experimenting in his school studio as a teenager. It’s an explosion of genre, emotion, and intelligence. It feels like an artist who has finally found his sound, and you sense that this is only just the beginning.
‘Once We Were Present’ track listing:
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Modern Man
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Too Blue
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Terrified of Love
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Something Wrong With My Mind
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It Won’t Be Easy
The EP is available here: https://mountainbird.ffm.to/
https://soundcloud.com/mountainbirdswe/something-wrong-with-my-mind-1/s-CC80L66WaaU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWQj7HgXcSg
