Electronica duo Birthday Problem – share ‘The Language of War single (ft. Molly O’Mahony)

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

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,  taking a look at our future through a dark lens – think Black Mirror meets Kraftwerk. 

What makes this project particularly interesting is the approach that Harris and O’Reilly have taken to recruiting vocalists and songwriters for each track. In a ‘call and response’ style that stays true to each producers’ highly collaborative sensibilities, Birthday Problem had a wish list of artists they wanted to work with, and they wanted them to be involved from the start. Some of the songs had lyrics written already, while others were more of a blank soundscape to work with. 

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.” 

So far, Birthday Problem has released tracks featuring Ailbhe Reddy, Runah, HAVVK, Nerves, The Wood Burning Savages and more. This new single ‘The Language of War’ features West Cork singer-songwriter Molly O’Mahony, formerly a member of the folk group Mongoose. Molly’s 2022 debut album The House of David has received critical acclaim, with the Irish Times awarding it 4 stars in a review. Matt Harris of Birthday Problem says: “I remember hearing Molly’s music for the first time when I was driving to Cork and I was struck by the quality of her vocals. Working with her voice has given us so many options with the track and working with her as a person has been great.”

Molly O’Mahony says: “The song is told from the voice of a dismayed deity of war, the Morrigan perhaps, warning humankind about the cost of invoking her once again. She tells humanity, in no uncertain terms, that to continue speaking the language of war, is to realise their own bitter demise.  

“I’ve enjoyed the challenge of writing to this track by Matt and Rocky, as it’s completely out of my normal wheelhouse. It allowed me to easily break from writing from my own life and imagine broader scenarios and themes. The hard-edged, beat-driven texture of the track lent itself to expressing some tremors of current world events through an imagined mythological voice. It was cathartic to channel some of my own feelings about the state of the world through this vessel.”