Guitar Center | 1 month ago

Towa Bird shares her creative process for “Drain Me”—currently the singer-songwriter/guitarist's most popular song with nine-million listens on Spotify. The Jimi Hendrix-influenced guitarist—who feels solos are “arrogant,” but totally shreds anyway—collaborated with Mikky Ekko (Rihanna) and Luke Niccoli (Gwen Stefani, Carly Rae Jepsen) on the track.

“This was the first and only song I have ever successfully written over Zoom,” explains Towa. “It was an interesting product of the pandemic. I came up with the ideas in Los Angeles, and sent them over to my collaborators to be translated in Nashville.”

Towa Bird’s personal studio was critical to the production, and the vocals you hear on the record were recorded in her closet.

“I cut my vocals at home with a Universal Audio Apollo interface and Apple Logic,” she says. “I’d press Record, run into my bedroom closet, shut the door for maximum isolation and cut my vocals with a handheld Shure SM7.”

Here, Towa plays an intimate version of “Drain Me” with just her vocal and Gibson Firebird Custom, but the released track’s production is full of sonic surprises, thrilling dynamic shifts and layered vocals.
“When I heard the final mix, I thought, ‘This might be one of my bigger songs.’”

Keep up with Towa on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/towabird/?hl=en

Check out the gear Towa Bird discusses and uses in this video:

Gibson Firebird Custom: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Custom/Firebird-Custom-Electric-Guitar-Ebony-1500000310354.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA

Kemper Profiler Stage Amp: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Kemper/Profiler-Stage-Amp-and-Multi-Effects-Processor-1500000299761.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA

Universal Audio UA Bock 187 FET Condenser Mic: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Universal-Audio/UA-Bock-187-FET-Condenser-Microphone-1500000387321.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA

Shure SM7B Dynamic Mic: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Shure/SM7B-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone-1274034493929.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA

Universal Audio Apollo Interfaces:https://www.guitarcenter.com/Universal-Audio-Apollo.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA

Chapters
00:00 Writing a catchy melody
00:39 Collaborating on Zoom
01:05 Recording, Mixing, and Putting it all Together
02:07 "Drain Me" Performance