Naturally Inspired...by Birdsong
Birdsong from idyllic Islay was the inspiration behind a 'Naturally Inspired' collaboration between Glaswegian jazz composer and drummer Stu Brown and American drummer and composer John Hollenbeck.
The two musicians swapper their drum sticks for binoculars as they travelled to Loch Gruinart, an RSPB Scotland nature reserve famed for its geese and wading birds.
The pair made recordings of the wild birds, which they used to inspire their own rhythms, as well as using the wild birdsong as audio samples in their music.
Stu Brown had the following to say: “Being on Islay was a stunning experience. There were so many different natural sounds all around us constantly, the music just sprang to life from that.I was particularly inspired by the sounds created by thousands of barnacle geese all calling together, which produced these complex polyrhythms, and the lapwings with their almost electronic calls.”
A variety of birds, from geese. rooks, oyster catchers and choughs, have been used in the recordings. The pair will be joined by Theo Blackman (vocals), Julian Arguelles and Jorrit Dijkstra (saxes), Gary Versace and Paul Harrison (keys) at The Hub on the 8th August at 8pm to premier the music that was inspired by bird song.
You can also catch them at the Botanical Gardens for Naturally Inspired, a collaboration between the Jazz and Blues festival, the Edinburgh Mela and the Scottish Storytelling Festival on the 8th August at 13:00.
