Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees is an assured and joyful statement from a young artist evolving and finely honing his craft. Or as Robinson himself puts it, “It’s the music that I dreamed about making as a kid.”
Today, jazz and R&B producer, composer and musician Harrison announces his self-produced third album Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees. Featuring “Float” with Kadhja Bonet, this new album will be out April 28 via Last Gang Records.
Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees demonstrates the evolution of the Toronto-based artist’s sound since releasing his first two JUNO-nominated albums, as well as Harrison’s recent composition work on video games (Nintendo Switch’s LOUD) and commercials (NERF, Play-Doh). The musical polymath performed every instrument on the piano-centric record, in addition to writing, producing and mixing the album in its entirety. Drawing from his artistic roots, love of old cartoons, and musical influences ranging from instrumental hip-hop to American jazz piano a la Vince Guaraldi and Charlie Brown, this albumis a nostalgic ode to the music Harrison dreamed about making as a kid.
Like his previous two albums, Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees sees a handful of guests seamlessly stepping into the producer’s technicoloured world. Veteran emcees MED & Guilty Simpson are featured on today’s track “Bump,” while the rest of the album boasts features from the likes of Kadhja Bonet, TOBi and Nanna B. Also out today is the funky instrumental “Inthecoupe.”
“‘Bump’ Is a love letter to some of my favorite rappers growing up,” Harrison says. “MED and Guilty have been huge influences on me since I was 16. Understanding their beat choices on producers they worked with was a really helpful growing tool. The instrumental for BUMP was actually originally different. They found the pocket I was looking for on this new joint. I’m floored that they were kind enough to join me on this album. ‘Inthecoupe’ is a reminder to myself to not be so serious all the time. My love for jazz is very deep but I still love making fun dance music. A playful song revolving around a brass synth and a bounce.
Harrison - Birds, Bees, The Clouds & The Trees Tracklist 1. Daydreamin 2. Cowboys 3. Outta This World (featuring TOBi) 4. Overhead 5. Like When We Were Kids 6. Bump (featuring M.E.D. and Guilty Simpson) 7. Honey Harbor (Bill's Song) 8. Music Box 9. Around You 10. Float (featuring Kadhja Bonet) 11. 2016 12. Inthecoupe 13. 7 pm 14. Blue Sky (featuring Nanna.B) 15. A View From The Sky 16. Runthatback