New track celebrates return of the White-tailed Eagle

Musician, sound artist and composer Alice Boyd has released a new single, Return of the White-Tailed Eagle, created in collaboration with the RSPB to mark the 50th anniversary of the successful reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to the UK.

Our largest bird of prey, the species had previously been driven to extinction due to persecution and habitat loss. You can stream the single across all platforms from here: https://ffm.to/wte.

Alice’s transportive new track arrives ahead of the forthcoming release of short film Return (out on 29th August), which documents the RSPB and partners’ 50 year-long endeavour to bring the White-tailed Eagle back to our shores. The film blends stunning present-day footage of the birds thriving in their Scottish heartlands with archival gems, and features voices including RSPB Ambassadors Dave Sexton (who has been integral to the reintroduction project) and Nadeem Perera (co-founder of Flock Together), who share their passion for the birds alongside Alice.

Speaking about her collaboration with the RSPB, Alice says: “The story of the White-tailed Eagle really resonated with me. Over the past couple of years, my work has focused on how the soundscapes of our natural environments are changing. I’d just made a Radio 4 documentary (Shifting Soundscapes) where I revisited three locations recorded by audio naturalist Martyn Stewart 50 years ago, to see how they’d changed. After documenting the diminished dawn choruses and the heightened noise pollution, it felt uplifting to hear about positive change and how this bird of prey had returned to the UK.”

During the creation of Return of the White-Tailed Eagle Alice decamped to RSPB reserve site Pulborough Brooks in hopes of recording the bird’s calls, to weave into the song. Whilst the day’s recording didn’t yield an eagle’s call, it captured a wealth of ambient woodland sounds that are heard across the track, with Alice philosophical about its elusive namesake: “We spent six hours just sat there, watching the nest from a distance, waiting for the eagle to call. It was an amazing experience, feeling the anticipation – it was quite meditative as well. Although it would have been nice to capture the bird’s voice, the rarity also added to the mythical quality of them as creatures.”

Advocacy for our natural world runs deep through all of Boyd’s releases. To date, Alice has participated – alongside artists including Aurora, London Grammar, MØ, Brian Eno and Hozier – in the Sounds Right ‘Feat. NATURE’ initiative to give nature official artist status on streaming platforms, and also curates field recordings from the natural world for Ffern’s As The Seasons Turn podcast. Alice has served as the Eden Project’s Artist in Residence (using the process of biosonification to capture electric currents from plants, and transform them into sound), and was also hand-picked for the Following Nan Project, during which she hiked in Nan Shephard’s footsteps across The Cairngorms, assimilating her field recordings into the EP Cloud Walking. Elsewhere, Alice’s music has appeared across 6Music, Radio 3 and BBC Introducing, and her widely ranging collaborations span from Adam Buxton and Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor to the Wellcome Collection and the Donmar Warehouse.

Mark Fountain, the RSPB’s Managing Multimedia Editor, said: “We wanted this film to reach beyond nature lovers and develop a life of its own. By working with a brilliant musician like Alice and asking her to create an original song for the film we gained a whole new perspective on nature and the vital role that art must play in conservation.”

Return of the White-Tailed Eagle – Alice Boyd

Download the new single by Alice Boyd, created in collaboration with the RSPB to mark the 50th anniversary of the successful reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to the UK. During the creation of Return of the White-Tailed Eagle, Alice decamped to RSPB reserve site Pulborough Brooks in hopes of recording the bird’s calls, to weave into the song. Whilst the day’s recording didn’t yield an eagle’s call, it captured a wealth of ambient woodland sounds that are heard across the track. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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