In 2017 Jenny Sturgeon (Salt House, Jenny Sturgeon Trio) and Inge Thomson (Karine Polwart Trio, Da Fishing Hands) wrote and created Northern Flyway – an audio-visual production exploring the ecology, folklore, symbolism and mythology of birds and birdsong. Northern Flyway premiered to a sold-out audience at The Barn (Banchory) in January 2018 and a CD of the songs was recorded at Mareel, Shetland, over four days in early February 2018.
The album is set for release on 14 September 2018 via Hudson Records (pre-order link). Watch the video for Curlews, also out Song of the Day, on which Inge shared the following:
“This song was inspired by a pair of curlews who returned for several years to nest in the small area of marshland at the back of my childhood home, Quoy, on Fair Isle. I stood watching them with my mother one day a couple of years back, she observed that the male performed his display dance for the female every year despite there being no other competition in the area. I know it’s just them following their natural instincts, but I love a romantic gesture and I like to think that a real love exists between the mates. The display itself is really beautiful, more an aerial dance with tumbling, swoops and corkscrew aerobatics accompanied by a soundtrack of whoops and warbles.
“Curlews appear regularly in folklore, they are known as one of the Seven Whistlers, who, when all sing together are the harbingers of doom. Some believe they are the spirits of deceased miners who sing to warn the workers of impending danger. More positively, it is said that they are blessed birds, as the story goes, St Beuno was out in his boat and he accidentally dropped his bible overboard only for it to be plucked from the water and deposited on dry land by a vigilant curlew.
“Changing agricultural practice and drainage of marsh areas has contributed to the decline in numbers of curlews seen in mainland Scotland. The RSPB has guidelines to help landowners and farmers restore their habitats and minimise further decline. Thankfully, the curlew is still thriving in Shetland.
“Sarah Hayes takes the lead vocal in the song which also features the warbling call of a curlew in flight, recorded by Magnus Robb of Sound Approach.”
The music draws on the extensive field recordings of birdsong expert Magnus Robb, Sturgeon’s background as a bird biologist and Thomson’s home turf of Fair Isle, Shetland.
The songs combine vocal and instrumental composition, interviews, sonic experimentation and lush and varied bird song from the northern hemisphere. Themes of human and avian migration, the seasons’ cycle and humanity’s relationship with nature resonate through this
multi-dimensional work. Alongside Jenny and Inge, Northern Flyway also features singer/multi-instrumentalist Sarah Hayes (Admiral Fallow, Rachel Newton Band) and vocal sculptor/beatboxer Jason Singh (Follow the Fleet, Tweet Music).
This project was made possible through support from Creative Scotland, PRS Foundation, The Scottish Ornithologists Club, The Barn, Northlink Ferries and LoganAir.
The Players on Nothern Flyway
Jenny Sturgeon – vocals, harmonium, dulcimer
Inge Thomson – vocals, accordion, flute, thumb piano, kaoss pad, wave drum
Jason Singh – beatbox and sound design
Sarah Hayes – vocals, piano, keys, flutes, Hammond
Magnus Robb and The Sound Approach – bird samples
Featuring – Whooper swan, Rosefinch, Swift, Siskin, Gannet, Curlew, Snipe, Lapwing, Linnet, Crested Tit, Osprey, Gold Crest, Black Grouse, Dotterel, Golden Plover, Red Grouse, Snow Bunting, Ptarmigan, Golden Eagle, White Fronted Goose, Waxwing, Redwing, Ural Owl, Tawny Owl, Goldeneye, Raven.
PRE-ORDER NORTHERN FLYWAY NOW – https://lnk.to/
2018 Tour dates:
17th September – Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh
19th September – Cecil Sharp House, London
20th September – St George’s, Bristol
21st September – Cornerstone, Didcot
22nd September – Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff
23rd September – The Stables, Wavendon
25th September – Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock
26th September – The Tolbooth, Stirling
27th September – Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
29th September – Lyth Arts Centre, Caithness
30th September – Findhorn Bay Arts Festival, Findhorn
https://www.facebook.com/northernflyway
Photo Credit: Graeme MacDonald