Found Sound

After years of having my beauty sleep interrupted by Radio New Zealand's 7am wake up call, I was keen to get started!
grabbed a bunch of bird calls and nature recordings from the DOC and Radio New Zealand sites, and from a native sample CD that I'd had lying around for years (thanks Mike!) and used Maschine and Ableton Live to create my Found Sound submission.

Local talent

The vocal hook which gives the track its name and inspiration came from the Blackbird, which also provided the house melody. Drum support and trance filler were contributed by the Tūī, the Fantail (Pīwakawaka), and the Morepork (Ruru). Noise bursts were by the Stichbird (Hihi). The Little Spotted Kiwi (awwww) helped out with the drums and melodies, while the North Island Kiwi and the Blue Wattled Crow (Kōkako) provided operatics. The bass breakdown is by the bass heavy Night Parrot (Kākāpō), and the Hutton's shearwater (Tītī) rounds the track off with its distinctive laugh. Environmental seashore ambience is courtesy of the Chatham Islands.

Song structure

The track has three distinct parts: a techno build up, a dubstep breakdown, and a house melody. The 5 minute limit means that none of the parts really gets established before the next section kicks in, but I think it keeps it interesting, and opens the track up for repeat listenings.

Competition results

I've no idea how many entries DOC received, but five tracks were shortlisted for public voting. Sadly Don't Cry wasn't among them. Skraaark!