The Sounds Right initiative has released four new singles to mark World Oceans Day, each blending marine field recordings with original music. As with all NATURE releases, royalties from streams will be directed to frontline conservation projects.
The tracks include collaborations with Squid guitarist Anton Pearson, trip-hop duo Morcheeba, former Correspondents frontman Mr Bruce, and vocalist Jason Singh alongside trumpeter Yazz Ahmed. They join a catalogue of over 80 artist collaborations and hundreds of pure nature sound recordings issued since NATURE was established as a credited artist on major streaming platforms.
Pearson’s contribution, “Passing Through, Half Asleep”, builds ambient drift from field recordings taken at Brighton beach, incorporating the sounds of bottlenose dolphins recently spotted off the coast. “I wanted to use the opportunity to understand and reflect my local coastal environment here in Brighton,” Pearson says. “The dolphins have been recently spotted just off the coast - it felt important to record them and include them.” The guitarist is currently working on his debut solo album Driving Through Belgium, forthcoming via Warp Records.
Morcheeba rework their 2021 track “Sound of Blue” for the collection, with band member Ross Godfrey remixing the original to layer in blue whale, humpback whale and orca calls, alongside the crack of Arctic ice sheets. Vocalist Skye’s experience of free diving in Thailand originally inspired the song. “I love the sound of being underwater, it brings back primitive memories in us all because all life started in the blue waters of this planet,” Godfrey says. “We should respect marine life, give it space to rejuvenate and replenish itself because the world can’t live without healthy Oceans.” Morcheeba are currently on a world tour with European dates scheduled this summer.
Sounds Right, developed by UN Live in partnership with Brian Eno’s EarthPercent, has accumulated over 300 million streams, reached more than 30 million listeners across 185 countries, and channelled over $600,000 into conservation since its launch. The initiative has previously worked with artists including Hozier, AURORA, Ellie Goulding and V of BTS.
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