music
February 23, 2026
‘Musicians drank too much and slept on my barn floor’: Andrew Bird on making cult album The Mysterious Production of Eggs
‘I was playing all day and night in a kind of fever, throwing in pop, jazz, violin, guitars and polyrhythms, while wrestling with some demons’

TL;DR
- Andrew Bird began recording his album 'The Mysterious Production of Eggs' in an isolated barn three hours west of Chicago.
- He struggled with isolation, personal demons, and experimenting with a loop pedal, incorporating various musical styles.
- Early collaborative recording sessions in the barn were overwhelming, leading Bird to attempt re-recording in Nashville and touring Europe.
- A producer in LA connected Bird with engineer David Boucher, and the album was eventually completed in a professional environment.
- The album's title is inspired by a 1920s magic catalogue, reflecting the thrill of creating something new.
- Manager Andrea Troolin describes the lengthy process, including numerous scrapped versions and the encouragement Bird needed to finish the project.
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