Digital Pigeon is proof that anything can happen in a college dorm room. What started as two engineers playing around with some beats and a computer, turned into a full-length album to keep you warm in the winter and a fresh EP for the summer. Brett Garberman and Colin Hofer, freshman buddies turned college graduates, made Digital Pigeon into the hobby that they can’t stay away from.
Why Digital Pigeon, you ask? The name sparked from the fact that Brett’s grandfather raised pigeons in a coop for most of his life, and since the music they release is digital, it felt like the perfect fit. To paint a picture for us, Colin said “you know those crazy people that feed pigeon’s in NYC? That’s Brett’s grandpa, but a professional”, where Brett responded with “pigeon’s are cool”.
A couple of days after the DP EP dropped, Brett told me he feels the two have finally started taking themselves seriously and have begun to make a different kind of music, something that was touched on when I first talked to the Pigeon boys back in February. The duo were just getting ready to release their first full length album, “For The Birds”. As I walked into their DIY studio based in Syracuse, NY, they were buzzing with anticipation and nervous excitement about how many people they thought that their album would reach and how to get Digital Pigeon as much exposure as possible.
“I don’t like when people aggressively force me to listen to their music, so I’m not one to do that to someone else”, said Hofer as he rocked side to side in a black swivel chair in the vacant bedroom they marked “The Bird Cage”. Brett pops in by saying, “Oh, I promote the shit out of our music!”
Brett’s excited personality balances out Colin’s laid-back demeanor, enabling them to work seamlessly with each other, producing the best music possible while having fun in the process. Though much time was spent jokingly bantering back and forth about how much work each one puts into the project, it is obvious that they are both equally as passionate about the music being put out, despite Brett jokingly taking credit for 90% of the duo’s promotion and online presence.
What they agreed upon was how much time Brett and Colin spent on their first full length, “For The Birds”. Once they figured out the software and knew what they wanted to do with their music in terms of sound and direction, they were able to make up what was in their heads.
“I spend a lot of time in here making beats” Colin defends himself, sparking a new debate that keeps the boys occupied for a good 5 minutes before hopping back into the music. “We were working for a good amount of time, we worked over winter break; I went down to Colin’s house and we went to finish a song and ended up leaving with two new ones”, Brett explained, showing just how dedicated they were to perfecting their craft and giving the fans the best music possible. “We weren’t sitting down trying to make a masterpiece, Colin had just texted me and said ‘yo I did something crazy, let’s do it”
And do it they did. In terms of songs, Colin is fond of “The Interlude” while Brett prefers “Exosphere”, seeing as both songs had come a long way from their beginnings. A personal favorite of mine is “Let ‘Em Go”, one of the few songs with vocals mixed into the track, a bold first track to set the stage with for the album. With the release of the DP EP, Brett says that he feels like they really found their groove.
What I especially like about both Digital Pigeon releases is that although all of the songs have something in common, they don’t all sound exactly the same, adding a sense of diversity yet unity in both the album and the EP. As someone who is an avid DP listener, you can always tell that Digital Pigeon flare with the bird noises in between beats, first prominent on the first album on track “Seismic Activity”, carried over into the first track of the DP EP, “Lotus”. The futuristic sound stays consistent and intriguing on the EP, emphasizing their growth as Brett and Colin shy away from their hip-hop roots demonstrated on “For The Birds”. Therefore, if you ever want to feel like you’re in a scene from Fast and Furious, The DP EP is definitely for you.
Digital Pigeon is a brand that is constantly changing, as are Brett and Colin. As the duo moves on to Grad School and full-time jobs, Digital Pigeon will always be a piece of Syracuse that the two will carry with them forever.
Make sure to check out Digital Pigeon on Spotify and Soundcloud as well as keep up with them on social media to be the first to know about new music!