In October, we shared the news that Marry Waterson and Adrian Crowley are to collaborate for the first time on an album titled ‘Cuckoo Storm’ (out March 8th via One Little Independent Records), produced with Jim Barr (Portishead). The album’s announcement was accompanied by their first single, ‘Undear Sphere’, composed using the ‘blackout’ technique and written by Waterson when skimming the pages of a church jumble sale book. Marry blacked out parts of the original text until only certain words or phrases remained, connecting motivational words to create an entirely new work. Crowley had been working independently on a melody that just happened to fit her creation: a happy accident.
Today, they are sharing their new single, ‘Watching The Starlings‘, again accompanied by a stunning animated video created by Marry.
Adrian tells us of the new single ‘Watching The Starlings’: “I wrote this song a couple of years ago and it had been living with me unheard by others for a while. There is a place I would stay whenever I was in London, thanks to a kind friend who would give me the key and let me stop there for a while. It was a place in a secluded court with foxes and blue jays, not far from the Heath. That’s where this song is set. It had a presence of its own and a particular kind of magic. In the song, the narrator is giving instructions, almost like one gives directions to someone, like an invitation describing how to get there: the cul-de-sac, the gate, the archway, number 11. And in the song, the narrator is waiting for this someone to arrive. It’s the closing of the day with the change of light when the murmurations begin to cavort around the patch of sky visible from the window. And a kind of quiet euphoria arises from a sense of being on the cusp of a moment that is life-affirming and absolute.”
Talking about the video, Marry says, “My videos are usually multimedia, and texture based. I loved mixing the very latest AI rotoscoping techniques with original 60’s cine footage from London. I wanted to create an intimate space which also reflected the wonder of Watching The Starlings.”
The song and video capture the magic you feel when you become overwhelmed by the sudden sense of place…that euphoria of past memories and the stillness of time. It’s all been so beautifully crafted and carefully constructed…like a short story.
Stream: https://oli.lnk.to/starlings
Taken from their new album ’Cuckoo Storm’ out on 8th March 2024
Pre-order: https://oli.lnk.to/cuckoo-storm