Towa Bird is finally learning to celebrate her own art: 'It's just good music — maybe'

On a recent trip back to London, rising pop-rock artist Towa Bird visited the house she lived in during university – where she started producing, writing songs and posting videos online – and felt a rare moment of pride when he returned there. “Standing back in that house, it kind of hit me: 'I've come a long way,'” says Bird, 25. “Even though I don't let myself believe it, I have.”

Bird's career has been growing steadily since 2021, when she scored a major deal with Interscope and moved from London to Los Angeles. She won recognition as the towering guitarist who could shred on Disney+'s Olivia Rodrigo's 2022 special, driving home 2 u. In 2023, he scored a headlining spot on Reneé Rapp's Snow Hard Feelings tour and, in October, released the breakout single “Drain me!”, an electrifying alternative rock hit about lust that appears on her debut album, American heroreleased June 28.

Growing up in Hong Kong and later London, the half-Filipino, half-English artist was raised on alternative and classic rock, identifying more with guitarists (her idols include Jimi Hendrix and Prince). “Hearing the way the guitarists handled the instrument, making it sound just as powerful and present as the lead vocal, I was drawn to that,” says Bird. At 12, she was learning how to play her father's old guitar, “which I think had about three strings,” she recalls. “But I definitely tried to make it work.”

Two years later, Bird formed her first band, The Glass Onions, and began playing local dives in Hong Kong. However, despite her first steps, Bird assures that she wanted to be everything but a full-time artist — precisely because she never felt empowered or licensed to become one. “I don't think anyone in my family thought that [this] would be like that — myself included,” he says. “I thought it would be a cute hobby.”

He went on to study at Goldsmiths, University of London, but dropped out in 2020 just before the pandemic. Soon after, to pass the time, Bird began uploading videos of herself shredding other artists' songs on TikTok and soon fell into writing, producing and playing guitar for more emerging acts. Never feeling that she had 'permission' – mostly from herself – to be an artist, Bird preferred to work out of the limelight. But what he didn't expect was that through those sessions—many of which took place on Zoom late at night in London with artists in Los Angeles—he felt the power he'd always sought. “Being on stage and being seen was good,” he says.

Around the same time, Bird met music managers Jacob Epstein and Zack Morgenroth (of Lighthouse Management, whose clients include Rodrigo) “over the Internet,” she says, and signed the pair. He thought a publishing deal would follow, but even though he was “too scared to sing”, Epstein and Morgenroth were simultaneously setting up record deals for Bird as an artist. The interest she received excited her, saying that the encouragement and support from major labels “gave me a little push” to focus on her own music. In 2021, he signed an artist deal with Interscope and moved to LA

Bird has since emerged as an urgent voice in rock music, whether through her singing or shredding. And more often than not, it's both. She believes that in recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in live instruments, especially among her generation. She credits the resurgence in part to her friend Rodrigo. “Olivia really opened doors for me,” says Bird, referring to the Disney+ special that won praise and press. “It was really nice of her to see a young artist and say 'I want to feature you.' “

Last year, Bird had another peer (and label) give her a boost when Rapp asked her to play guitar on “Tummy Hurts,” from Rapp's debut album, Snow angel. She then brought Bird on her 2023 tour, which allowed the singer-guitarist to meet her fans up close for the first time — and spend time with singer-songwriter-producer Alexander 23, a Rapp colleague and friend Bird he worked for. me up American hero.

On the album's 13 tracks, Bird ponders a range of 20-something woes: raging about how expensive life is and the lack of a US health care system; “ACCOUNTS”; adjusting to life in Los Angeles and a career in music “That's not me”; and you feel afraid of falling in love with a friend “Sorry Sorry.”

“I've never been like, 'Oh, I'm going to write a gay song today,'” she says of her approach to writing. “It was like, 'I want to write a good song about love or sex,' or whatever I was feeling. It's funny how [my music has] it's been labeled queer music or whatever people decide to label it, but to me, I think it's just good music — maybe.”

True to form, Bird is struggling to celebrate the wins she has had so far. He can't even say the word “success” without using quotation marks. She insists she's trying to get better at acknowledging her wins along the way – which now includes a string of summer festival gigs – and already has an idea of ​​how she'll celebrate her album release. “I'm going to sit and listen to the whole thing, front to back. And then probably cry and get aggressively drunk,” she says with a laugh.

But despite feeling “scared” about its release, Bird acknowledges its importance. While he never felt like he had permission to land exactly where he has, with American hero, gives that catwalk to anyone who listens. “It's something I definitely still miss,” says Bird. “I mean, what young woman is going to tell you that [support is] something they received growing up? Probably none. Especially in this industry. So if I can help in any way, even unintentionally, then that's great.”

This story will appear in its June 22, 2024 issue Advertising sign.