Birthday Problem – have shared the new single ‘For Now (ft. Stephen McCauley)’

Birthday Problem is a collaborative project between two prolific producer / musicians – Matt Harris (HAVVK, Maria Kelly, DYVR) and Rocky O’Reilly (ASIWYFA, Oppenheimer, Malibu Shark Attack). 

What makes this project particularly interesting is the thematic and collaborative approach that Harris and O’Reilly have taken. In a ‘call-and-response’ style, Birthday Problem asked a diverse range of artists one question: “If we continue to indulge the worst parts of our humanity, what will the world start to look like in the future?”

The question has elicited an incredible range of responses from artists like Party Fears, Molly O’Mahony, Ailbhe Reddy, Runah, HAVVK, Nerves, Róisín Nic and The Wood Burning Savages, all of whom have collaborated on the project so far. 

The latest track to be released from Volume 1 of Birthday Problem’s cannon is ‘For Now’, a rousing and evocative spoken word piece written and performed by broadcaster Stephen McCauley. 

“It was an honour to be invited to collaborate with Rocky O’Reilly and Matt Harris, two producers whose work I have loved and admired for years, on the Birthday Problem project,” says Stephen. “For nearly two decades, on radio and TV, my work has been devoted to showcasing incredible artists, making all kinds of music so it is surreal but also fascinating to be on the other side of that, to step outside my comfort zone and be the artist this time.

“As for the song itself, we live in extremely challenging times in which society has become divided, atomised, and disconnected. ‘For Now’ is a reflection of that but not without some ‘stubborn hope’ too.”

Matt Harris says: “Birthday Problem has a mission to try and encourage our collaborators out of their comfort zones… but this is obviously a more unique example where Stephen is doing something totally different! The enthusiasm and passion he’s brought has been contagious. For me, Stephen’s words cut straight to important concerns but also do what so much public discourse fails to do in providing optimism about the future. I hope it feels that way for listeners too.”

Individually renowned for their fearless, boundary-pushing approaches to making music, Birthday Problem sees the duo team up to thematically and sonically dive into a sci-fi electronica realm. Volume 1 has seen Harris, O’Reilly and collaborators take a look at our future through a dark lens. 

Rocky O’Reilly says: “Matt and I definitely had an idea of the artists we wanted to be involved in the Birthday Problem project, many of whom we’ve worked with over the years. We were, and still are, acutely aware that there are a lot of upsetting and disturbing things happening in the world at the moment, and that’s literally what we approached vocalists with. We asked them a tough question: ‘if we continue to indulge the worst parts of our humanity, what will the world start to look like in the future?’ With this project, we want to find out what issues are worrying people most, and even in a small way help to draw attention to them.”