One for the Rook One for the Crow

August 20, 2019 10:40 AM

Sing As The Crow Flies is "a set of nine vocal tracks re-voicing the rural landscape, surrounding reed beds and marshes on the Norfolk/Suffolk border" by Laura Cannell and Polly Wright. It includes "One For the Rook One for the Crow," a "vocal instant composition recorded inside Raveningham Church in Norfolk in Spring 2019." The Guardian: "Cannell and Wright take as their source material a terrifying sounding 19th-century book: The Norfolk Garland: A Collection of the Superstitious Beliefs and Practices, Proverbs, Curious Customs, Ballads and Songs of the People of Norfolk." Sing As The Crow Flies on Youtube.
posted by mandolin conspiracy (3 comments total)

I've been listening to a lot of very slow, droning music lately, and this fits in just perfectly. Their voices are beautiful and haunting, and the improvisations make it feel...organic, is that the word I mean? There's a randomness and unexpectedness even within the comfort and repetition of these long, echoing notes.
posted by mittens at 10:57 AM on August 20, 2019

Wow - I would love to hear this live. While wearing a cloak. Twigs in my hair.
posted by queensissy at 11:19 AM on August 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

Laura Cannell also plays dual recorders.

Wait! Don't go!

They appear on a couple of tracks on Simultaneous Flight Movement (recorded inside Southwold Lighthouse).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:26 AM on August 20, 2019 [1 favorite]