On this album of pure birdsong you can hear 53 of our most threatened species. The title track celebrates the incredible diversity of the Australian soundscape, and highlights what we stand to lose without taking action. Be immersed in a chorus of iconic cockatoos, the buzzing of bowerbirds, a bizarre symphony of seabirds, and the haunting call of one of the last remaining night parrots. 

A collaboration between the acclaimed nature recordist David Stewart, Nature Sound, the Bowerbird Collective, BirdLife Australia, Charles Darwin University and Mervyn Street of Mangkaja Arts, this project, released alongside the 2020 Action Plan for Australian Birds, shows that Australians will not allow these precious avian voices to be silenced.

Nature Recordings | David Stewart Nature Sound 
Title Track Arrangement | Simone Slattery
Editing | Anthony Albrecht
Design & Concept | The Bowerbird Collective
Artwork | Mervyn Street, Mangkaja Arts
Scientific Advisors | Stephen Garnett & Sean Dooley

28. Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-cockatoo

15. Carnaby’s Black-cockatoo

10. Noisy Scrub-bird

04. Western Heath Whipbird

03. Purple-crowned Fairy-wren

Having sent birds soaring to No.2 on the ARIA charts ahead of ABBA and Adele in 2021, Songs of Disappearance is back with an album featuring 43 of our most threatened frogs. The title track celebrates the incredible diversity of the Australian soundscape, and highlights what we stand to lose without taking action. Be immersed in a chorus of croaks singing in all corners of the country, from the mountain streams of Far North Queensland, to the caves of the Kimberley and the last remaining wetlands of our urban centres.

01. Songs Of Disappearance | Australian Frog Calls

Having sent birds soaring to No.2 on the ARIA charts ahead of ABBA and Adele in 2021, Songs of Disappearance is back with an album featuring 43 of our most threatened frogs. The title track celebrates the incredible diversity of the Australian soundscape, and highlights what we stand to lose without taking action. Be immersed in a chorus of croaks singing in all corners of the country, from the mountain streams of Far North Queensland, to the caves of the Kimberley and the last remaining wetlands of our urban centres.

A collaboration between the Australian Museum FrogID project, The Bowerbird Collective, Listening Earth and Mervyn Street of Mangkaja Arts, this project, being promoted as part of FrogID Week, shows that Australians will not allow these precious voices to be silenced.

Highlighting the dedication of citizen scientists all over Australia, the majority of recordings on this album are high-quality public recordings of threatened frog species submitted to the national FrogID project. These sounds are complemented by recordings of Critically Endangered frogs contributed by some of our country's leading scientists. The album concludes with the moving calls of several species we have already lost to extinction, as well as a selection of exquisite, meditative, amphibian soundscapes captured by master nature recordist, Andrew Skeoch of Listening Earth.

27. Tapping Nursery Frog

26. Orange - Bellied Froglet

06. Tasmanian Tree Frog

Pre-order now! www.songsofdisappearance.com

Having sent birds soaring to No.2 on the ARIA charts ahead of ABBA and Adele in 2021, Songs of Disappearance is back with an album featuring 43 of our most threatened frogs. The title track celebrates the incredible diversity of the Australian soundscape, and highlights what we stand to lose without taking action. Be immersed in a chorus of croaks singing in all corners of the country, from the mountain streams of Far North Queensland, to the caves of the Kimberley and the last remaining wetlands of our urban centres.

Preview - Songs Of Disappearance - Australian Frog Calls

Album Preview

Life on Land’s Edge is our ode to migratory shorebirds, one of the world’s most extraordinary, and most threatened, species groups. Every year, millions of these birds travel on vast migratory corridors, Flyways, between their breeding and feeding grounds. Our Flyway, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, stretches from the tundra of Alaska and Siberia in the north, to the coastlines of Australia and New Zealand in the south. For shorebirds, who dwell beyond society’s awareness on overlooked tidal mudflats, at the edge of the land and the sea, migration is in their DNA. Some of these birds have broken records that defy the imagination, flying uninterrupted for more than 13,000km.

Characterised by their extraordinary physical feats, diverse beaks for feeding in deep mud, and their soft, haunting calls, the 58 species that use our local Flyway have suffered the steepest population declines recorded anywhere in the world in recent decades. This, like so much ongoing degradation of the natural world, is due to climate change, human disturbance and loss of habitat. Certain species have experienced declines of between 60-90%, some with only a few hundred individuals remaining.

The music on this album comes from our live production of Life on Land’s Edge, which tells the story of these awe-inspiring birds through scientific and traditional knowledge, poetry, soundscapes, music and imagery from across the Flyway. In partnership with BirdLife Australia, eight new Australian compositions were commissioned, and then juxtaposed with works by Philip Glass, Dai Fujikura and Vivaldi. Life on Land’s Edge takes audiences on an epic journey alongside migratory shorebirds as they connect continents and cultures: a musical and visual odyssey, and an uplifting call to action. 

Releases June 30, 2023.

Recorded by Mick Wordley at Mixmasters, Adelaide Hills, March 2023
Produced & Edited by Anthony Albrecht, Simone Slattery
Mixed by Chris Doherty at Studio 301, June 2023
Mastered by Andrew Edgson at Studio 301, June 2023
CD Design by the Bowerbird Collective
Artwork by Annie Day, Kate Gorringe-Smith
Photography by Chris Purnell, Nigel Jackett, Tristan Stringer, Shelley Pearson (Liner Notes Front Cover), Georgina Steytler (Liner Notes Back Cover)

Produced with respect and gratitude on Kaurna, Gadigal and Wonnarua Country

Sanctuary - Anne Cawrse

Invisible Connections - Simone Slattery

Having sent birds soaring and frogs hopping to the top of the ARIA charts ahead of ABBA and Adele in 2021 and 2022, Songs of Disappearance is back with an album featuring some of our most threatened mammals. The title track celebrates the incredible diversity of the Australian soundscape, and highlights what we stand to lose without taking action. Be immersed in a chorus of shrieks, screams and bellowing from all corners of the country, from our ancient forests, dry deserts and remote Antarctic coastlines.

A collaboration between the Australian Conservation Foundation, The Bowerbird Collective and Wild Ambience, this project shows that Australians will not allow these precious voices to be silenced. The album cover and liner notes feature stunning artwork by children who entered the ACF's Wild at Art competition.

www.songsofdisappearance.com

Nature Recordings | Wild Ambience, et al.
Title Track Arrangement | Simone Slattery
Production | Anthony Albrecht
Design & Concept | The Bowerbird Collective
Cover Artwork | ACF, Wild At Art
Scientific Advisor | Dr Christine Cooper

Please note: 50% of album profits support the Australian Conservation Foundation in saving threatened wildlife.

Songs of Disappearance - Australian Mammal Calls

Preview - Songs of Disappearance - Australian Mammal Calls

Violin and Vocals | Simone Slattery
Cello | Anthony Albrecht
Nature Recordings | Andrew Skeoch, Sue Gould, Ann Jones
Cover Artwork | David Lancashire

Inspired by leading ornithologist Tim Low’s award-winning book, this CD explores the Australian origins of song, ‘the birds that can sing’. Such is their evolutionary significance, ‘one may ask whether human music would have reached the heights it has, had the first songbird not sung in an Australian rainforest.’

This disc encourages listeners to contemplate the origin of song and the importance of Australia's rich and colourful bird history. The program includes music spanning 300 years, from Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and J.S. Bach to Arvo Pärt and new Australian works. The live version of Where Song Began has been performed over 50 times around regional Australia, and includes a film of evocative visual projections and an immersive soundscape.

www.wheresongbegan.com

Bowerbird Collective

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