A riroriro, or grey warbler Photo: Bartek Wypych
Musicians have long been inspired by the sounds of nature but could humans intentionally make music with another species?'
Wellington jazz musician and academic Dave Wilson pays tribute to the riroriro song that became part of his inner world on a new track.
"[The bird's song] was shaped by my own emotions, my own life experiences at that time and it was kind of a companion," he tells Kathryn Ryan.
Musician and academic Dave Wilson Photo: Nick George Creative
Listen to a riroriro song here
Tuning into sounds made by the countless non-human creatures we share this planet with could help bridge the "artificial divide" between humans and nature, Dave says.
Inspired by his own experience of connecting with a native bird song, he included an audio recording of it on the track 'speak to me of yesterday and tomorrow (elusive as the dead)' from his upcoming album Ephemeral.
The piece, named after a poem by Brian Turner, features, in addition to the riroriro refrain, Dave on tenor saxophone, a string quartet improvising and also a rhythm section.
He says that although he could pick out the music notes in the birdcall, he chose not to write the track in that key.
"I gave the guitarist one key, I gave the bass player a different key, and the bird is kind of in its own world, as we can hear in the music. Hopefully, that helps us hear the bird not in the notes that we might put on it but maybe kind of on its own terms."
To further explore music that humans have made with birdsong, Dave recommends For The Birds – a collection of 172 tracks inspired by the beauty of birdsong and curated by music producer (and frequent Wes Anderson collaborator) Randall Poster.
Dave recommends checking out the following two tracks:
'Morning Rituals' by Shabaka Hutchings, featuring Esperanza Spalding
British composer Shabaka Hutchings is a saxophonist who's now turned to playing a range of indigenous flutes.
His track 'Morning Rituals' features the sounds of flutes, jazz singer Esperanza Spalding's voice and birdsong
"Humans, we have our morning rituals. So do our birds. What would it sound like to listen to those together?'
"You hear the flute, which is a sound of human breath… and then you hear the human voice and then sometimes you don't hear it, along with the birds… When I hear this, it makes me listen differently."
'For the Birds' by Makaya McCraven
Makaya McCraven is a self-described 'beat scientist' who reveals himself as a "beat ornithologist" on this track, Dave says.
"He uses recordings of birdsong but he recognises their inherent rhythmic qualities and he kind of joins them in fleshing out a more complex beat around those. He kind of weaves the melodic sounds of what the birds are doing but focuses on their rhythmic sense ...
"It draws my attention to qualities of birdsong that I don't automatically listen to."
