“Babe” by BirBÆK

Packed with Easter eggs and Purple-inspired production quirks (yes, even the hi-hat is a nod to the Purple One), "BABE" is more than a song—it’s a celebration of how art and artists connect us, spark new creations, and leave legacies that echo forever.

Listen, explore, and let the Purple spirit move you.

Birbæk on Babe AND prince

For me, a Prince ballad has always been the highest form of art. What masterpieces he left us: “Adore,” “When 2 R in Love,” “Sisia,” “Purple Rain,” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore,” “Slow Love,” and of course: “Do Me Baby.”

“BABE” is a tribute to that, one that reveals a lot about how Prince shaped my personal development. Back in the eighties, I was in German rockband in the border zone and mostly wrote political rock. Back then, only the pop singer wrote about love, not the rock frontman. But Prince inspired me to write those “relationship sappy songs,” as my neighbor called them. I still remember how my wild rock band refused to play the song live, hahaha.

The recording itself was no walk in the park either. Cubase on an Atari. 520kB of RAM, an 8 MHz processor, and of course plenty of MIDI freezes. The Atari track was played back in mono on the Yamaha MT-2x with that awful dbx noise reduction, then I sang, and then…

Then the song sat around for 30 years until Nils heard it. I always had this crazy dream that Prince would play guitar on the outro, but in 2016 it sadly became clear that it would never happen, so Nils played the guitar on it, and now, another 10 years later, this little piece of art is seeing the light of day, also as proof of just how much influence this U.S. artist had on an artist living on the other side of the world.

There is actually one thing about Prince that was more important to my life than his music: his influence on my sense of self as an artist. Thanks in part to Prince, I made decisions regarding my art—I turned down the major label deal because the terms weren’t right, and later, at the height of my novel sales, I ended my career because the publisher wanted me to keep writing the same bestseller over and over again. You don’t have to approach business decisions as radically as I do, or as Prince did, but for me, the realization that ultimately I, as an artist, decide my own life—not the record label, not the publisher, not the production company, not the broadcaster—was incredibly valuable. Prince exemplified that. I’ve adapted it. His greatest gift to me, and I’d love so much to thank him for it, but… fuck. No more PRINCE. But his influence is still felt on almost every musician I meet.

The song BABE is full of references to Prince’s recording style back then; the hi-hat alone is so purple-nerdy. The way the space thickens after the first chorus is also a tribute. I’ve never done anything like that in my “normal” songs. He always pushed me to try new things. Enjoy listening, find the easter eggs, and purple greetings out to the fams.

One last thing! Every artist needs someone to reflect on their work, motivate them, and sometimes give them a kick in the butt. Nils and I have been doing that together for 10 years now. We met because of Prince, became friends because of Prince, work on cultural projects because of Prince, bring people together because of Prince —and this is something that’s talked about far too rarely: how art and artists bring people together, and how new art emerges from that. That is the most beautiful influence of art – and of artist.

Michel 💜

Music, Words and Production by Michel Birbæk

Subsequent guitar solo by Neeels

Video by PurpleEYE

The Song is available on bandcamp