Some songs arrive in a lightning bolt. Others take years to find the right form. For Birds Of Tokyo, their latest single “Starlights” definitely fell into the second category.
“‘Starlights’ took us almost 5 years to build,” guitarist Adam Spark admits. “It always felt like we were trying to find something just beyond our reach.”
“We spent ages trying to understand what this song was meant to be — we just couldn’t force it,” frontman Ian Kenny adds.
The penny finally dropped when the track found its purpose with the Starlight Foundation, the charity that helps seriously ill kids through in-hospital entertainment and support programs.
The band have gifted the soaring rock anthem to soundtrack the organisation’s new fundraising initiative Streamas, launching this Sunday.
Birds Of Tokyo will help kick things off with a special online performance across their own and Starlight Foundation Australia’s YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels.
Full streaming details are available via birdsoftokyo.com.
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With all five band members now parents, the collaboration hit close to home and required none of the soul-searching that the song itself demanded.
“There’s something beautifully meta about all this,” Spark says. “After half a decade of experimentation we ultimately ended up with a song that’s about letting go of your fears and seizing the day so, as things have turned out, we couldn’t have come up with a better soundtrack for The Starlight Foundation if we had tried.”
On top of the fundraiser, the band will join Starlight for more hospital visits this summer and hit the road for a run of East Coast shows across January and February, including a couple with OneRepublic.
New tour dates were announced today, with tickets for the fresh additions on sale this coming Monday, December 1st, from 10am local time.
“Starlights” by Birds of Tokyo is out now.
Birds of Tokyo – ‘Starlighs’ Australian Tour
Friday, January 23rd
Hotel Brunswick, Brunswick Heads
Saturday, January 24th
Jetty Beach House, Coffs Harbour
Sunday, January 25th
The Recky, Elizabeth Bay
Friday, January 30th
Bathurst Harness Racing Club – Carnival Of Cups, Bathurst
Saturday, January 31st
Dee Why RSL, Northern Beaches (Sydney)
Sunday, February 1st
Miranda Hotel, Southern Shire (Sydney)
Thursday, February 5th
Kings Beach Tavern, Sunshine Coast
Friday, February 6th
Racehorse Hotel, Ipswich
Saturday, February 7th
Lookout Festival – Speers Point, Lake Macquarie (with OneRepublic)
Thursday, February 12th
Beer Deluxe, Albury
Friday, February 13th
The Pier, Frankston
Saturday, February 14th
Lookout Festival – Torquay Common (with OneRepublic)
