San Fran native Mikey S is the brains behind the dreamy sounds of Blackbird Blackbird and he’s just recently released a new EP entitled Let’s Move on Together which can be downloaded for free right over here (along with the rest of his tunes). We’ve actually already posted one of the tracks from the EP, “Pure”, but back then he was known as Bye Bye Blackbird. Why the name change? Well, we were fortunate enough to have a little chat with Mikey to ask him this and a few other (probably generic) questions. Gimme a break, it was all very impromptu.

So Mikey, tell us a little bit about how you got into making music

I first started making music in high school, playing in bands as a guitar player/vocalist in a hardcore band. I also played drums in a punk/hardcore band called called Murder Practice, went on tour and all that junk. I only recently developed into an electronic/lo-fi musician in the last year or so, but it’s such a great platform for letting my creativity flourish.

You’ve been getting some pretty good buzz lately from the blogosphere. What has that been like for you and are you surprised by any of the reactions people are having to your music?

I really enjoy to taking time to at least say thank you or strike up a conversation with bloggers/artists/friends who have written about me, because it really is the way my music lives: through blogs and oral/written communication. I really appreciate all the feedback that the new remixes & EP have received so far, and its really inspiring to hear everyone’s opinion on it. It makes me want to give back to the community by writing/posting about blogs/artists to show my appreciation for their hard work and effort. I’ve been surprised that just starting a twitter has enabled me to talk to so many rad artists that I couldn’t talk to before, and I’m really excited to collaborate with more artists and produce even more killer songs. As for surprises, honestly I almost shit my pants when I got on Gorilla Vs. Bear, that was very unexpected.

I can imagine! So what’s the story on your recent name change?

Ok, so what happened was I was contacted by a band with a similar bandname and they requested I change the name, so I gave it some thought and after a week or so decided that it was no big deal and announced the name change shortly after.

Right on. Probably better that it happened now rather than a well publicized ordeal down the road.

Yes, definitely, I think of the name change as a kind of positive thing because it has allowed for some new ideas to sprout and new kinds of influences to come out.

Do you have any plans of getting a live show going?

Yes, I currently have a pretty rad live set with my partner in crime Austin Wood. He and I usually do hybrid live/DJ sets together in SF, our most recent show was one with Starfucker and Fake Drugs at Milk Bar in SF, a venue run by the awesome dudes at epicsauce.com. The solely live set I have in development is sort of like how Baths does his live stuff. I use an AKAI MPD 24 and sing while altering effects and whatnot, it’s pretty stellar what you can do with just one badass Midi controller.

Very cool! I’ve always wanted one of those just to mess around with.

Yes, they are pretty great!

Any plans for any touring coming up or are you staying local for now?

For the time being i’m staying a bit local, but I’ve been talking to my label Arcade Sound Ltd. about a small summer tour with Kisses and Millionyoung, which would be awesome. I have also been chatting with Pandit and Foxes in Fiction about a midwest tour maybe in late summer, so both tours are looking to be pretty decent options for me.

Excellent! Definitely let me know if there is going to be a Detroit date included. Now last but not least, I know your new EP was just recently released, but what can we expect from you next?

We are working on a vinyl release for Let’s Move On Together EP, it will include 7-8 songs instead of just 4. The album will be on a 7″ or 10″ format and released sometime in July or August on Arcade Sound Ltd. Also, I am currently working on my full-length and the release date for that is hopefully either Fall Or Winter. I work pretty fast, so that means more releases faster! I just finished a collaboration song with labelmate Kiss Kiss Fantastic and a sweet remix of Coma Cinema. Right now I’m currently working on a Twin Sister remix and a Sunvisor remix. Hopefully these will be done and released within the next couple of days. [Editor's note: Since we talked with him late last week, he's released both the Twin Sister remix, and a new track entitled "Hawaii". He really does work fast!]

Thanks to Mikey for taking some time to chat it up with us! Check out “Sunspray”, one of his new tunes, below as well as his excellent remix of “Lady Daydream” by Twin Sister.

Blackbird Blackbird – Sunspray

Twin Sister – Lady Daydream (Blackbird Blackbird Remix)