The Birdsong Project
Become the owner of Birdsong of Western Africa, a project curated by Shika Shika & El Búho
After the huge success of the first two volumes of The Birdsong Project we are excited to invite you to help us make the third volume in the series. We are migrating over the Atlantic to an incredibly diverse and rich region for both music and birds: Western Africa.
After the huge success of the first two volumes of The Birdsong Project we are excited to invite you to help us make the third volume in the series. We are migrating over the Atlantic to an incredibly diverse and rich region for both music and birds: Western Africa.
About the project
A Guide to the Birdsong is a series of albums inspired by the song of endangered birds, created to raise awareness and funds for their protection. Each album focuses on one region of the world. The project was born from a simple but beautiful idea – to challenge some of the most talented producers and musicians from one region of the world to create a track inspired by the song of an endangered bird from their country. At the end of 2020 Shika Shika also registered as a non-profit organization to focus more on our work to unit music and art with driving change. After the success of the first two volumes, The Birdsong Project is back with a crowdfunding campaign for Volume III: A Guide to the Birdsong of Western Africa. As on Volumes I & II, "A Guide to the Birdsong of Western Africa" will feature a selection of ten exciting producers and artists from the region, whose styles explore and reinterpret the region's rich musical tradition in the 21st century. The album will be released in May 2022. 100% of the profits from "A Guide to the Birdsong of Western Africa" will be donated to tangible, local projects having an impact on the ground. As the crowdfunding campaign for the third volume is ending, we are releasing a special series of NFTs based on the birdsongs of 6 endangered species, and a special Unique Edition of Lulacruza’s beautiful "Cucarachero de Niceforo" remixed by El Buho will be auctioned very soon.
Raising awareness and driving change through music
Today, one in eight of the world’s 10,000 bird species is threatened with extinction, with more than 200 categorized as Critically Endangered. This region is home to key biodiversity hotspots such as the Upper Guinea forests, the Cameroon and Gabon lowlands, and the Cameroon mountains. Over the past decade, the region has suffered from devastating tree loss, with a 9% decline between 2010 and 2018: the equivalent to an area three times the size of Wales. Together with our partners Birdlife Africa and the African Bird Club we have selected a range of species classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
We then worked with Xeno Canto and the Macaulay Library to locate recordings of their songs and matched each of our ten artists with a species from their country. The species include the iconic Black Crowned Crane, the Critically Endangered Timneh Parrot or the enigmatic São Tomé Grosbeak. We hope the beauty of these incredible species can inspire more people to stop, listen and take courageous action. Together we can ensure these birds and their songs live on for generations to come.
Featured birds
- Ibadan Malambe
- Yellow-Casqued Hornbill
- Timneh Parrot
- Sierra Leone Prinia
- Nimba Flycatcher
- Black Crowned Crane
- Loango Weaver
Auction of the Unique NFT
To celebrate the launch of Volume III, the Birdsong Project founder El Búho (Robin Perkins) has created a unique remix of one of the classic tracks from the first Volume: Lulacruza’s beautiful Cucarachero de Niceforo. This is accompanied by a beautiful video animation made by Colombian animator and bird lover Ann Lopez.
