Hi, this is an introduction to the first season of our podcast, Having a Lark.
Two birdwatchers, one who records bird calls and the other who makes music, combine to explore the possibilities that emerge when music intersects with the sounds of birds. We introduce you to who we are and why we began exploring this space.
Transcript, links to bird calls used in the podcast, and any other relevant information below. Please provide feedback in the comments section. Is there anything we missed out on? What else can we include in the episode notes?
Transcript
Intro: Welcome, you’re listening to Having a Lark. A podcast by Ramit Singal and Preetham Meher.
Ramit: Hi. My name is Ramit, and I’m a birdwatcher. Apart from watching and photographing birds, I also record bird sounds. Sounds such as this <Indian Robin singing>, and this <Laughing Kookaburra singing>.
Preetham: Hi. I’m Preetham Meher, I’m a pianist and music composer. I play music such as <piano track>. I also produce music like this <EDM track>.
Ramit: Today, I am based in Australia while Preetham is based in India. But over the years, Preetham and I have gone birdwatching together regularly. And we’ve both shared our fondness for birds and music.
I think that birdsong is inherently musical. <Verditer Flycatcher sings, and Bassian Thrush screams> OK, perhaps not always.
Unlike music however, my recordings by themselves fail to evoke any emotions or tell a story because, well, they are just bird sounds. I think there needs to be some form of guidance or direction to be able to convey the emotions I feel when I am out in the field, listening and recording.
So earlier this year, I asked Preetham if he would like to work on a project that brings together bird song and music. Much to my pleasure, he said yes.
Preetham: I’ve always enjoyed birdwatching. Photographing them, understanding them, but most importantly as a musician I could always relate bird calls to a melody, texture, tone or a rhythm and much more. So I was very happy to agree with Ramit for this collaboration of music and birds calls to show the endless possibilities.
Ramit: It took us a while to get started. And our ideas evolved from basically adding music to birdsong to exploring how birdsong and music can intersect, maybe even become one. Over the past few months, we hope that we’ve synthesized a number of the concepts that found a place in our heads into sound tracks and podcast episodes.
If birds and music are your thing too, we reckon that you would like this. If either one of birds or music get you going, we still hope you would enjoy listening to us. And if neither music nor birds move you, then we hope that we can change that.
Credits and notes: You can find the full transcript, images, and related information in the episode notes. We wanted to thank Savithri Singh for letting us use her image of an Oriental Skylark for the podcast logo. And we also wanted to thank you for listening.
Birds in the podcast (with links to calls):
Intro tune: Oriental Skylark
Narration: Indian Robin, Laughing Kookaburra, Verditer Flycatcher, Bassian Thrush
Music in the podcast
Piano track: Preetham’s cover of Ludovico Einaudi’s Una Mattina