HIGHER GROUND Flits Beyond Feel-Good with Birds, Bees, the Clouds & the Trees
Harrison
HARRISON IS TOO HARD ON HIMSELF.
The 27-year-old Toronto producer and pianist has worked with a who’s who of Canadian rap, including Cadence Weapon and DijahSB. The latter can’t wait for Harrison to step out from behind the studio console.
“I’m excited for him to gain more attention because he’s one of those artists that definitely deserves to remain a musician their entire life,” DijahSB tells Exclaim! via email, before describing Harrison as “great to work with because he has a true deep connection to music.”
Hearing DijahSB’s praise makes Harrison beam during a Zoom interview with Exclaim!, but that doesn’t stop him from being playfully self-effacing. “They know I’m one of their biggest fans ever. So it’s nice to hear that from Dijah. They’re also on my ass all the time because I’m slow as hell,” says Harrison, his gravelly voice breaking into a booming laugh.
His trademark modesty is even more apparent while discussing his new album, Birds, Bees, the Clouds & the Trees (out April 28 on Last Gang/MNRK), which boasts an appearance from TOBi.
“Anything I send TOBi can be a hit, I believe. He’s going to be huge. I love him,” Harrison says. He goes on to recall their prior collab, “Beige,” the instrumental for which Harrison “sent TOBi, even though I thought it was dogshit. But once he was done I went, ‘My God, you made this amazing!’”
Harrison’s honesty is as refreshing as his funky take on hip-hop and R&B. His candour becomes moving as he explains the minute-long instrumental “Daydreaming.”
“I started taking an antidepressant, which I’m now off,” he says. “But I often just stare at fuckin’ walls. Sometimes there’ll be music playing in my head, or sometimes I’ll think about nothing. So the song is supposed to be about the moment of coming back to reality.”
The tone of Birds, Bees isn’t striving to be merely feel-good. There’s an unpredictability and dark undercurrent to these bright songs that rewards closer listens, until it sounds less breezy than expected.
He admits, “Honestly, I’d been so scared of making corny music for so long. But I gotta embrace the corn, bro. I’m tryin’ to make popcorn. Corn on the cob. So why not just do that? People can hear when you’re not being genuine as an artist.”