SONGBIRD | Adventures in home recording with Martin Ruby

SONGBIRD is a brutally honest, behind the scenes look at the songwriting and recording process. Based on Marco North's experiences with his debut album, Heaven Get Behind Me  he shares demos, hard-earned lessons, triumphs and finished tracks in each episode.

An expat New Yorker living in Moscow, playing 100-year-old instruments, writing songs about Fellini dying, a French stalker, Kodachrome and California divorces, North shares one bittersweet anecdote after the next in this fascinating deep dive into his sparse, cinematic songs.

Musicians will find inspiration, a healthy serving of laughter and great deal of comfort from this series. Music lovers will get an inside look at the creative process, and the story behind each song.

Episodes

EP 1: An introduction (Living through the songwriting process)
Nov. 10, 2020

EP 1: An introduction (Living through the songwriting process)

In this introductory episode, Marco explains what the show is about, the reason it is called SONGBIRD and shares some hard luck stories behind the making of his debut album, Heaven Get Behind Me.Sneak previews of some of the songs are included.
EP 2:The story behind the song | Fellini Was Dying (drunk in the afternoon)
Nov. 14, 2020

EP 2:The story behind the song | Fellini Was Dying (drunk in the afternoon)

In SONGBIRD's first "behind the song" episode, Marco explores the real life story that inspired the first track from Heaven Get Behind Me.We talk through the songwriting process, listen to the demo version, go deep into the technical choices and then we hear the final mastered version of the tr…
EP 3:The story behind the song | Marfa
Nov. 20, 2020

EP 3:The story behind the song | Marfa

In SONGBIRD's third episode, a stalker's email evolves into the song MARFA from Martin Ruby's debut album HEAVEN GET BEHIND ME. As usual, we talk through the specific challenges this track presented to the songwriting process.The demo as well as the final mastered version are included.
EP 4:The story behind the song | Long Tall Man
Nov. 27, 2020

EP 4:The story behind the song | Long Tall Man

In SONGBIRD's latest "behind the song" episode, we tackle the story behind Long Tall Man (track four from Heaven Get behind Me). Inspired by Ry Cooder's score for Paris, Texas (by way of a Blind Willie Johnson cover) and a documentary about Townes Van Zandt - this song is pure minimalism.We tal…
EP 5: The story behind the song | California Divorce
Dec. 4, 2020

EP 5: The story behind the song | California Divorce

What is your favorite breakup song?In this SONGBIRD "behind the song" episode, we talk about divorce and other major life events - how they shape us, how we navigate them and somehow move on. "California Divorce" is at the center of this conversation, track five from Heaven Get Behind Me.We…
EP 6: The story behind the song | The Letter Reader
Dec. 11, 2020

EP 6: The story behind the song | The Letter Reader

What does it take to break a person? Can they be saved? How does it feel to seek revenge on the world? These are the questions that inspired The Letter Reader, track 5 from Heaven Get Behind Me. In this "behind the song" episode we talk about prison, in its many forms. We also discuss the influence…