Of course most of us stream music these days, but more and more people want something physical from the artist passed hand to hand. We live in a world dominated by the digital. We must reclaim the physical.
STORMBIRD now available to download or to buy on CD from bandcamp.
The CD sleeve is beautifully illustrated by three artists who all have a strong personal connection to the songs.
I met Anne Von Eiff, who created the extraordinary STORMBIRD cover image, on a ferry to Barra. We got talking whilst watching dolphins, whales, porpoises and basking sharks. It was an unforgettable day. I told her about the Leach’s Storm Petrel and how I’d been driven to write a song about it. We kept in touch and weeks later she sent me her lino print, “Stormbird”.
I have known Steve Redpath for years. We are both ecologists and crossed paths many times in the past. He took a step back from academia and dedicated his energy to painting extraordinary landscapes with water colours. His wonderful painting, “Stormbird” graces the inside of the CD sleeve.
The third artist who’s work is threaded right through the CD sleeve and booklet is my daughter Hebe Denny Boyd-Wallis. Hebe has an ability with her art to reach between the physical and the subliminal in ways very few people can. I love the way she, draws, paints and creates but it is her beautiful writing that weaves it’s way through everything.
All of the text and wording including the GREENSHANKS logo on this website is by her hand. The booklet designed by Hebe contains all the song lyrics and each song beautifully illustrated.
The back cover photograph on the CD sleeve was taken by Emmanuel Boitier. His photo is not only striking it is significant. It was taken the evening I bedded down in my bivvy bag on the cliffs of St Kilda and listened to the Leach’s Storm Petrels flying in to feed their young. It was the night I recorded the call of the Storm Petrel that you hear at the very end of the Stormbird track.
Bringing these artists together into one place worked even better than I could have hoped. The effect of the black and white images created by Anne and Hebe is as immediate and striking as the moment you open the sleeve to the explosive colours of Steve’s painting.
To hold all of this is about more than just the music. I would love you to order a CD and post it to you, hand to hand, so you can see and hear for yourself.
STORMBIRD available to download or to buy on CD from bandcamp.
https://greenshanks.bandcamp.com/follow_me
