For The Birds: The Birdsong Project (LP)
Various Artists
Amoeba Review
For the Birds: The Birdsong Project is an expansive collection of 242 recordings inspired by birdsong. It represents a remarkable assemblage of diverse talents across the creative community to support an important cause, including GRAMMY, Oscar, Emmy, Pulitzer, Peabody and James Beard Award winners: Adam Horovitz, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Beck, Cassandra Jenkins, Dan Deacon, Elvis Costello, Esperanza Spalding, Flaming Lips, Haden Triplets, Jeff Tweedy, Jim James, Julia Holter, Julianna Barwick, Kamasi Washington, Karen O, Kurt Vile, Atlas Sound & L’Rain, Makaya McCraven, Mark Ronson, Mary Lattimore, Nick Cave, Stephin Merritt, Terry Riley, Tyondai Braxton, UNKLE, Yo-Yo Ma, and many more. The project includes all original music aside from Thomas Bartlett remixes of Yoko Ono/ANOHNI and Philip Glass, as well as an Elliot Bergman remix of Alice Coltrane’s “Turiya.” Interspersed with the original music tracks that were recorded and donated to this project are works by writers ranging from Jonathan Franzen, Maggie Smith, Ocean Vuong, and Mary Oliver, recited by Alice Waters, Bette Midler, Florence Welch, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Jelani Cobb, Matthew McConaughey, Natasha Lyonne, Olivia Wilde, Regina King, Robert Pattinson, Sean Penn, Tilda Swinton, Tim Blake Nelson, Toni Collette and more.
The Birdsong Project was produced by Randall Poster, the Grammy Award-winning producer and music supervisor known for his longtime work with Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese, plus star-studded contemporary tribute albums to Buddy Holly, Fleetwood Mac and others. Poster was inspired to celebrate birdsong from his friend and album Executive Producer Rebecca Reagan, who brought a grand creative vision and wisdom to the project. The first Volume of the 5-Volume collection is now available to stream on all platforms. Volumes 2-5 will be released monthly, concluding with Volume 5 being released in September. This collection will also be released as a limited edition 20-LP deluxe box set, which includes a 60-page book featuring an essay by musician-ornithologist Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater and a package bursting with paintings and illustrations of birds by well-known artists.