Announcing the Curlew Sounds Project!

Today is World Curlew Day, which I thought was a good day to announce the project! Read more about it below, and watch a snippet of the song that provided the creative spark…

Here’s a sneak-peak of a new song called 'Simmerdim. I’m sharing it with you today because it was this song that provided the creative spark for the Curlew Sounds Project!

I was born and brought up on a smallholding in Orkney in the north of Scotland and was fortunate to spend a lot of my childhood outdoors. The sound of curlews calling out in the ‘simmerdim’ - the night-long twilight found in the Northern Isles around midsummer - is one of the most vivid memories I have of home. It was only through writing this song however, that I discovered the wealth of folklore, poetry, art and music that curlews have inspired, and came to realise the true scale of their crisis. In many parts of the UK their numbers have nose-dived more than 60% and curlews are now on the conservation Red List. The thought that we could lose curlews from the British countryside has inspired me to act and assemble new creative responses to this iconic bird - this time on their behalf.

I’m absolutely thrilled that this project will support the RSPB Curlew Recovery Programme through the production of a double album of newly-commissioned musical works relating to curlews (disc 1) and curlew soundscapes recorded at the bird’s remaining UK hotspots (disc 2). The album will feature musicians of several different genres, based primarily in Britain but also in countries where the Curlew migrates to or from the UK. There will also be a podcast series to look forward to.

This isn’t just sentimental. I believe that when we take certain sounds out of a place we cut off pathways for imagination, conscience and feelings, just as we would by removing the works of a great poet from our literature.

Thanks to the RSPB and in particular the Curlew Recovery Programme Manager, Sarah Sanders for working with me on this and making the project a reality. I’ll be heading up to Geltsdale in Cumbria at the end of this month to begin recording curlews, and will be sharing further updates with you soon. I hope you’ll join me for the journey.

M x

P.S. can you spot the curlew in the video?