Wallis Bird

Wallis Bird
Background information
Birth name Wallis Bird
Born (1982-01-29) 29 January 1982
Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland
Genres Folk, rockabilly, acoustic
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 2005–present
Labels Bird Records/Kaiserlich Koeniglich Records
Website Wallis Bird's official website
Notable instruments
Guitar, vocals

Wallis Bird (born 29 January 1982) is an Irish musician. She has released five studio albums, including Architect in 2014 and Home in 2016.

Early life

The first time Bird came into touch with music, she was six months old and received her first guitar from her father. Born left-handed, she lost five fingers of her left hand in a lawnmower accident, and having four sewn back on again. She became used to playing a right-handed guitar upside-down, which contributes to her unconventional style of playing. The Irish Times wrote: “The sheer visceral energy could kick-start an entire economy…”[1]

After school Bird moved to the Irish capital of Dublin to study songwriting at Ballyfermot Rock School. It was here that she met fellow band member Aoife O'Sullivan. During that time she kept on playing in small clubs or pubs as well as on major festivals. She moved to Germany in 2005. Prolonging her Germany trip she met her management Karakter Worldwide and other musicians and formed a new supporting band, including brothers Christian and Michael Vinne. After first tourings Berlin, London, Dublin, Cork, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Mannheim she decided to stay in Mannheim, where she lived for a year and a half. In 2006, Bird moved to London.[1] In 2008 the band was joined by Irish/Belgian musician Aidan. Bird records her material in her native Ireland, Germany and in her apartment in Brixton, London.[1] Since 2012, she resides in Berlin, Germany.

Career

Bird has been compared to singer-songwriters such as Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple or the young Janis Joplin. In her songs she combines elements of traditional folk music, blues and funk with a rock sound. Her style ranges from soft folk to power ballads.

Accompanied by her band colleagues, the brothers Christian and Michael Vinne and Aoife O'Sullivan, she frequently tours throughout Europe. In April 2006 her debut EP Branches Untangle was independently released in Germany by her own label, Bird Records.

In October 2006, Bird signed a worldwide recording contract with Island Records Group UK. The "Moodsets EP" was released for download and on vinyl on 30 July 2007, with her debut album Spoons following on 18 September 2007 in Germany. Her song "Counting to Sleep" was chosen by iTunes as their 'Single of the Week' and the digital release of her album Spoons subsequently reached the Top 10 in the UK Album Download Chart. In the UK, her single, "Blossoms in the Street" was released on 15 October 2007, with the physical release of Spoons following 22 October 2007.

In February 2008, Bird toured the UK as support act for soul star Gabrielle, and later that year with Billy Bragg.

In 2009 (Ireland/UK) and 2010 (Rest of Europe), Bird released her second album New Boots, which entered the Irish album charts on No. 11, played over 80 headlining shows through Europe and supported over 20 shows in Europe of Rodrigo y Gabriella. During the festival summer she played over 15 festivals in Europe, including Montreux Jazz Festival, Oxegen Festival, Frequency Festival, Rock En Seine, Lowlands and Pukkelpop.

In January 2011, Bird toured with Anaïs Mitchell's performance of her album Hadestown, providing opening support whilst also taking part in the main production of the show. In November 2011, Bird released a special limited edition sole acoustic album (limited to 1000 copies) called The Mistakes are Intentional. Bird recorded the solo versions in her home in London during the summer of 2011. The CD is packaged in a wallet which has been hand-stitched by Bird herself. Bird made the album in anticipation of the release of her third album.

Bird performed at the Eurosonic Festival in 2012 when Ireland was the Spotlight Country.[2]

Wallis Bird (2012)

Bird released her third studio album on 9 March 2012 in Ireland,[3] Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[4] The album was recorded in Berlin, Germany. The first single, "Encore", was released on 2 March. The music video debuted on 1 February,[5] and had been shot in Berlin.

Architect (2014)

Architect is the fourth studio album by Bird. The album was released on 11 April 2014. The first single from the album was "Hardly Hardly", released across Europe on 28 March and 4 April 2014 respectively.

Yeah! (2015)

A live album featuring recordings from her European tours from her debut album to her 2014 release Architect, Yeah! was released in 2015.[6]

Home (2016)

Home is the fifth studio album by Bird, and features the tracks "Change" and "Control". It was released worldwide on 30 September 2016.[7]

Awards

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
IRL
[8]		 AUT
[9]		 GER
2007 Spoons — — —
2009 New Boots
  • Released: 24 July 2009
  • Label: Columbia (Europe outside Ireland)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 14 59 —
2012 Wallis Bird[10]
  • Released: 9 March 2012
  • Label: Rubyworks (Ireland and UK)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 11 51 99
2014 Architect
  • Released: 11 April 2014
  • Label: Kaiserlich Koeniglich / Bird
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 24 67 93
2016 Home
  • Released: 30 September 2016
  • Label: Mount Silver
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — 31 —
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
IRL
[11]		 UK
 UK Indie
2007 "Blossoms in the Street" — — — Spoons
2008 "Counting to Sleep" — — —
"Just Can't Get Enough" — — — Non-album single
2009 "La La Land" — — — New Boots
"To My Bones" — — —
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Download-only releases

Awards

Live performances

In October 2008, Bird recorded a cover of Depeche Mode's 1981 hit "Just Can't Get Enough" for The Sun newspaper's advertisement campaign. Following repeated requests from viewers, the song was digitally released in Europe as a double A-side single, together with Bird's own song "The Sunshine Song". In March 2010, Bird appeared on GOTV to present her favourite music videos and musical influences.[12] Her song "To My Bones" from the album New Boots featured on an advert for Wexford tourism in 2011.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "the all new wallisbird.com". Wallis Bird. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "RTÉ 2fm gearing up for EuroSonic". RTÉ Ten. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Bird,wallis – Wallis Bird – CD – Tower Records Dublin Ireland". Towerrecords.ie. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Wallis Bird [Vinyl LP]: Wallis Bird: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Wallis Bird – ENCORE – Official Video". YouTube. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  6. ↑ https://love-your-artist.com/en/wallis-bird/music/wallis-bird-yeah-double-vinyl-preorder/
  7. ↑ https://love-your-artist.com/en/wallis-bird/music/wallis-bird-home-cd/
  8. ↑ http://www.irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Wallis+Bird
  9. ↑ "Wallis Bird – New Boots". austriancharts.at. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  10. ↑ Wallis Bird in den Singlecharts. chartsurfer.de
  11. ↑ http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=1
  12. ↑ "gotv – hosted by Wallis Bird". Gotv.at. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "Visit Wexford – Fun, Festive & Unforgettable". YouTube.
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