How pure birdsong took over the UK music charts.
We made a single of pure birdsong with the RSPB, and it was the most downloaded track in the UK charts last week, reaching Number 18 overall.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds asked us (the creative collective Glimpse) to help get nature into popular culture, and birdsong heard above Brexit. So we hatched a campaign called Let Nature Sing, which broke out of its little shell and soared into the zeitgeist this week.
We wanted to show that nature is part of culture, and birdsong is another kind of music. So we worked with the Mercury nominated folk singer Sam Lee to create a magical soundscape of skylarks, turtle doves, snipes, bitterns and nightingales.
We mixed the track, created a music video, commissioned those beautiful masks, and held a launch event in a fancy bar.
Here’s what happened since then:
- Let Nature Sing has been downloaded over 25,000 times, played on Radio One and remixed by Diplo.
- Our music video has been featured on MTV, The One Show, BBC Breakfast and even Belgian telly.
- The sound of birdsong has been reviewed in Pitchfork, the NME, Gizmodo and the Guardian.
- Totally new audiences are learning about the crisis that UK nature is facing, where we’ve lost over 40 million birds since 1966.
Spring is falling silent. So we put a donk on it.
We’re proud as peacocks, because Glimpse is all about breaking out of bubbles and making things like nature and climate change feel relevant to more kinds of people.
In fact, we think rediscovering our connection with nature can be a serious solution to many of the problems we face, from climate breakdown to stress, anxiety and depression.
And today it feels like change is in the air. From the school strikes to the pink boats, something big is happening. Releasing a music track of birdsong won’t change the world on its own, but millions of us raising our voices with joy and energy just might.
Massive thanks to every member of the Glimpse collective who made this happen, with special shoutouts to Sam, Clare, Lawrie, Ruth and chief bird Zac.
It’s been a great week, but the best is yet to come. We’re about to announce our next collective project about something even bigger, something that inspires us all.
In the meantime, step back and revel in this unlikely story.
There’s a new Swift at the top of the charts.
