Away with the Birds, by Hanna Tuulikki

Away with the Birds

by Hanna Tuulikki

supported by

Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis thumbnail

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£10 GBP or more

	1.	by the shoreline 08:56
	2.	on the cliffs 09:12
	3.	ebb tide (lament) 10:18
	4.	flock & skein 08:06
	5.	night-flight to the burrow 09:19
	6.	Live on Canna (by the shoreline) 08:23
	7.	Live on Canna (on the cliffs) 09:22
	8.	Live on Canna (ebb tide (lament)) 10:24
	9.	Live on Canna (flock & skein) 09:49
	10.	Live on Canna (night-flight to the burrow) 11:19

about

This digital release introduces the vocal composition that sits at the heart of Hanna Tuulikki's Away with the Birds | Air falbh leis na h-eòin, a body of work exploring the mimesis of birds in traditional Scottish Gaelic song. It features a studio album alongside a live recording of a unique outdoor performance.

Performed by a female ensemble, the composition reinterprets archive recordings, texts, and living traditions, weaving together fragments of Gaelic songs and poems that are imitative of birds, into a textural tapestry of sound.

Across five movements, an extended soundscape emerges, guiding us through communities of waders, seabirds, and wildfowl. The ensemble evoke the sounds and motions of birds wading on the shoreline, swooping before cliffs, gathering in flocks and beating in skeins. They conjure the sea and the winds, the chatter of seabird colonies, the waders' chorus at dusk, and the shearwaters returning to their burrows.

As the music ebbs and flows, Away with the Birds tunes into a sonic continuum that reaches into the more-than-human world, calling to mind the eco-tones where species meet. Contained within this musical portrait of the inter-relationship between bird and human, is the recognition of a lineage of listening that stretches back to early cultures where bird-calls held meaning – for the splay-toed fowlers who scaled the cliffs of St Kilda, and the women who bore the song-poems.

Developed over four years, Away with the Birds culminated in a performative event on the Isle of Canna in the Hebrides, in August 2014. The performances took place in the harbour, on a specially constructed wooden platform, with a sound system suspended in the water. View film here: vimeo.com/388789250

The studio recording was made for an interactive website commissioned by The Space in 2015: score.awaywiththebirds.co.uk

“A chance to hear the sky brought down to earth, absolutely stunning” Tim Dee, BBC producer/broadcaster and author of 'Four Fields' and 'The Running Sky'

“Enchanting, beautiful and completely original” Mark Cocker, author of ‘Birds and People'

credits

released April 10, 2020

Composed by Hanna Tuulikki

Performed by Nerea Bello, Kim Carnie, Anna Sheard, Lucy Duncombe, Megan Henderson, Kirsty Law, Mischa Macpherson, Nicola Scrutton, Hanna Tuulikki, and Judith Williams

Field recording interludes by Geoff Sample
Gaelic mentoring by Mary Smith

Studio album recorded at Chem 19, Glasgow, 2015

Live performance recorded on the Isle of Canna, August 2014
Live sound engineered by Iain Thompson

Mixed by Iain Thompson and Hanna Tuulikki

Photograph by Alex Boyd
Film Stills by Daniel Warren
Drawings by Hanna Tuulikki

Wider project credits:
Suzy Glass & Emmie McKay (project producers)
Nic Green (dramaturg and performance director)
Deirdre Nelson (costume)
Daniel Warren (film maker)

Supported by Creative Scotland, The Space, Isle of Canna Community Trust, National Trust for Scotland, Cape Farewell, and PRS for Music Foundation.

license

about

Hanna Tuulikki Glasgow, UK

Hanna Tuulikki is an artist, composer and performer based in Scotland.

hannatuulikki.org

contact / help

Contact Hanna Tuulikki

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Hanna Tuulikki, you may also like:

February Sounds
by Laura Cannell & Kate Ellis

supported by 5 fans who also own “Away with the Birds”

The first and last tracks make for effectively foreboding bookends, while the middle two offer a friendly glimmer. And it's really fun seeing how this monthly project plays out... Ron Hogan
go to album
January Sounds
by Laura Cannell & Kate Ellis

supported by 5 fans who also own “Away with the Birds”

These three tracks flow together really neatly—hard to pick out a favorite! They set an exquisite mood of foreboding. Ron Hogan
go to album
Mystères (non) Révélés
by Delphine Dora

supported by 4 fans who also own “Away with the Birds”
go to album
Exit Ghosts
by Tomas Nordmark

A glimmering ambient suite from Swedish composer Tomas Nordmark draws connections between the NYC avant-garde scene and classic film scores. Bandcamp New & Notable May 5, 2021
go to album
Mesa Buoy
by James Schroeder

Beautiful, elegantly wrought instrumentals with the grace and delicacy of slowcore mark the latest from James Schroeder. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 28, 2020
go to album
Nightside
by Luke Cissell

Atmospheric baroque instrumental pop from composer Luke Cissell—complex and carefully constructed but not without a sense of humor or light. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 14, 2020
go to album
Hilja
by Cucina Povera

supported by 4 fans who also own “Away with the Birds”

Cucina Povera's music on this album is entrancing and immersive in its carefully considered simplicity. SingBlueSilver
go to album