Firebird Union On the Making Of ‘Higher Ground’
What was the creative process like for this particular ‘Higher Ground?’
Matt: Usually I’d have an idea start from putting chords or a riff together on a guitar, so it was different to how I’d typically write. Ross had the demo lying around and said “Do you fancy doing something with this” so I started working out lyrics and a melody. We went back and forth on those and the structure of the track, and we kind of panel-beat it into shape.
Ross: Yeah, it was a true collaboration. Often we’d individually write a full song and present it to the other, but this time we both kept piling on smaller ideas until we had something that worked as a whole.
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of ‘Higher Ground?’
Ross: I had this demo knocking around, largely just the drums and bass that I didn’t know what to do with. Pretty much on a whim, I sent it to Matt to see if he could write a topline. He came back super quick, which was amazing considering there isn’t the usual chord-based backing to latch a melody onto.
Matt: Lyrically, halfway through the track there’s this little melody that repeats and I had this line ‘we could move to higher ground’ that fitted it. It was interesting to explore what that meant and it ended up leading to a reflection on the climate crisis, rising sea levels, and how we’re basically torturing nature even though we’re a part of it.
What has been one of your favorite memories along the path to making this single?
Matt: The first time we realised we had a song on our hands that was unlike anything we’d written together before was quite a provocative moment. It was a bit of an epiphany in terms of thinking we don’t need to approach songwriting in a typical fashion.
Ross: Realising we could do something stylistically different that still fits into our sound world. It opened up the door for a lot of the things that are to come. Most people know us as guitar-based songwriters, so it’s nice to challenge those assumptions.
What do you find most rewarding about co-writing with others?
Ross: It’s nice to be able to elevate someone else’s ideas, and have them knock you down a peg if what you’re doing isn’t up to scratch. Also, it halves the workload!
Matt: It’s always good to be creatively challenged, and when the other side of the equation is your brother, it means you have to up your game!
Do you have any memorable on-stage moments or performances that stand out to you?
Matt: Probably our last gig in our previous band. We’d sold out the Fly in London, and halfway through the set one of our amps blew out and one of the sound techs had to come on stage and repair it. When we were younger, we’d have freaked out and it would have totally thrown off the set, but we just carried on as normal, the amp was back up and we continued. We’d gigged loads so nothing fazed us at that point. That moment was where I felt we’d hit a real maturity in live performance but also as a team.
Ross: I’d always enjoy Matt’s comedy routines while he tuned his guitar. Or when he tried to count-in in Spanish, only to realise he didn’t know the Spanish word for ‘Four’.