About

No Bird Sing Bio

Minneapolis-based 3 piece hip-hop band NO BIRD SING has signed to STRANGE FAMOUS RECORDS! Their new album, “DEFINITION SICKNESS,” is now available worldwide!

Stand outs in the indie-rap haven of Minnesota, No Bird Sing combines the talents of emcee Joe Horton, drummer/producer Graham O’Brien, and guitarist/producer Robert Mulrennan. With Definition Sickness, the trio has maintained the integrity of their live-band roots while exploring a more produced sound that ranges from stark minimalism to lush expansiveness.

The first single, “DON’T THINK”, is a brooding track where Horton shares vocal duties with SFR label head SAGE FRANCIS.

Other guests on the album include FIX cohorts Crescent Moon (Kill the Vultures) and Kristoff Krane, as well as Sadistik, Chastity Brown, James Diers (Halloween, Alaska), Aby Wolf, Adam Svec, and Molly Dean.

NBS released their eponymous debut to critical acclaim in 2009. Their 2011 follow-up, “Theft of the Commons”, along with the US tour dates that followed, served to expand their loyal, burgeoning fanbase across the Midwest and beyond.

Their SFR debut, “Definition Sickness”, offers a meditative commentary on modern life, owing much to leftist political theorists like Howard Zinn as well as Eastern-leaning philosophers like Alan Watts and Lao Tzu. Musically the dark, transcendent instrumentation of the record creates a rich and varied soundscape that will immediately entice fans of multiple genres. Repeat listeners will be rewarded by both the layered lyrical themes and the ear candy that’s provided by the nuanced sonic compositions.

Check out the first video from the album, “AND WAR”:

“If you took away the vocals, you’d never know it was hip hop,” admits drummer/producer Graham O’Brien. “We’re just investigating the relationship between hip hop and other genres—taking the spoken, rhythmic word and putting it in other places.”

“That’s what creativity is,” vocalist Horton says. “It’s coming to this point where you don’t know exactly what you’re doing and having to figure out what to do. The second you’re not doing that, you’re just rehashing old shit.”

“That’s what creativity is,” vocalist Horton says. “It’s coming to this point where you don’t know exactly what you’re doing and having to figure out what to do. The second you’re not doing that, you’re just rehashing old shit.”

“Apogee” is the second video from the album:

Videos