Russ got the call from engineer Brad Haehnel to rescue a track by a young Canadian talent. It was called I’m Like a Bird and, after Miller’s input, the song, and Furtado’s career, took flight.

Russ Miller says:

“The producers had never used live drums, these were modern producers who programmed everything themselves. But they couldn’t get the tune to go anywhere with the program they had.”

“The trick with that tune is that notes-wise it’s very simple but conceptually it’s very difficult because they wanted the song to go from point A to point B, and get big, but they didn’t want the groove to change much. It was about dynamics and an understanding of the placement of notes in time.”

“What I did was played the verses on top and ahead: I used a little 10" snare drum, a tight, swingy feel, and the kick is the last partial of a sextuplet, so it’s not a 16th note. Then in the chorus I went to a big snare and I played way behind the click. The difference between them means it opens up really big.”