THE LYRE BIRD

THE LYRE BIRD — Communicating with Humans' Animal Unconscious

I've trained myself to become a Human Lyre Bird, this record is an exploration of how everyday noises from the urban environment communicate with our Animal Unconscious'.

The Lyre Bird is an Australian ground-dwelling bird that has the extraordinary ability to mimic any audible sound from it's environment such as other birds, chainsaws, alarms, motors etc.

The record I have made is split into four chapters, all sounds made on the record are made with my human voice and introduced by a computer.

1.  Sounds made from Predators to their Prey

— Hunting (00:00:01)
— Luring prey into a trap (00:00:54)
— Obeying the Alpha (00:01:42)
— Uncomfortable silences (00:02:16)
— Alpha allegiance battles (00:02:36)

2. Sounds made from Prey to their Predators
— Territorial markings (00:03:06)
— Defence signals (00:03:50)
— Dominance & submission (00:04:18)
— Tribal distinguishing marks (00:04:39)
— Intrusive behaviour (00:05:16)

3. Sounds made from Man’s plight for Survival

— Involuntrary hibernation (00:05:54)

— Regular sustenance (00:06:20)
— Appeasing the frustrations of a lonely life (00:06:39)
— Maintaining the nest (00:07:05)
— Exercising mating calls & courtship signals (00:07:43)

4. Sounds made in Man’s Workplace
—  Migration to the workplace (00:08:27)

—  Greeting rituals (00:09:12)

— The impression of being busy (00:09:35) 

— The impression of not being busy (00:10:05)
— Courtship etiquette (00:10:31)

The record critiques the sounds of everyday life and how they communicate with us.

Read more about the project and see the packaging here:
http://www.robinhowie.co.uk/lyrebird

Watch a test 'making of' film here:
http://vimeo.com/11988753