Is there any music made by animals?

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I was just wondering if anyone has ever released a recording of animals trying to make music? Or if an animal has featured heavily on a record (live, not a sample)?

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 21:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

there's that Thai Elephant Orchestra thingy. Someone else could tell you more about it, I'm sure.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

there was that report a while back about Peter Gabriel being involved with a program at Georgia State U teaching monkeys to play piano, which is unspeakably awesome

― Al (sitcom), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:06 (10 years ago) Permalink

The Thai Elephant Orchestra is on Mulatta Records. Put together by Dave Soldier. Its great!

― gaz (gaz), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:08 (10 years ago) Permalink

Some cats released a christmas single a few years back.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:09 (10 years ago) Permalink

whale recordings were huge in the seventies

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:10 (10 years ago) Permalink

that Smithsonian frog recording anthology was really (deservedly) popular on college radio a couple of years back

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

"House of the Rising Sun". And anything involving the drummer from the Muppet Show band, or the codpiece guy in Anti-Nowhere League.

Also, what about those dogs barking "Jingle Bells"?

― jeri curlan, Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:12 (10 years ago) Permalink

Paul McCartney Jams with Apes

― JD (JND), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

And there are bird-song records that come with canary food, too!

― jeri curlan, Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

Also:

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=search&StoryID=1686794

― jeri curlan, Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:15 (10 years ago) Permalink

http://www.jinglecats.com/

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

oops, i don't think my link works. it was about a gorilla who recorded an entire CD last year. I think it even wrote the songs!

― jeri curlan, Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:19 (10 years ago) Permalink

This story is better, anyway:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2131909

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

jeri, maybe you're thinking of Andrew WK

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

for anyone in Australia SBS has a new show starting May called subsonic which is going to have some crrrrazy footage of the Thai Elephant Orchestra. Mulatta's done some great stuff: anyone heard the Tangerine Arkestra? A school band influenced by Sun Ra...

― gaz (gaz), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:50 (10 years ago) Permalink

Stop what you are doing right now and download Flossie and the Unicorns "Guitar Lessons for Animals". This could be the best rock opera evah (If it was more than one song that is). A squirrel wants to start a band and gives animals in the forest lessons but an evil witchy witchy witchy comes and casts a spell so that they won't be able to find a drummer. You will love yourself for listening to this. Thank me later.

― Carey (Carey), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 22:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

I saw on Letterman's stupid animal tricks some dog or bird or something play 'when the saints go marching.'

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 29 January 2003 23:20 (10 years ago) Permalink

http://www.koko.org/kokomart/music.html

― A.H. (A.H.), Thursday, 30 January 2003 00:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Thursday, 30 January 2003 00:25 (10 years ago) Permalink

'Beatle Barkers': Beatles songs barked by dogs.

― Keith McD (Keith McD), Thursday, 30 January 2003 01:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

I think the birds in my neighborhood need to come up with some new material.

― gazuga (gazuga), Thursday, 30 January 2003 02:30 (10 years ago) Permalink

don't worry, it's almost spring. they will migrate soon.

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 30 January 2003 03:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Look no further

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 30 January 2003 04:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

Paul, you rule!

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Thursday, 30 January 2003 05:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

does anyone remember lancelot link and the evolution revolution????
http://home.att.net/~bubblegumusic/lancelot.htm

― jesus_was_a_gogo_dancer, Thursday, 30 January 2003 09:19 (10 years ago) Permalink

for live with the birds by the "Maciunas Ensemble and Kanary Grand Band" Paul Panhuysen writes "The studio where the recording is made is the same room where the birds live in their aviary. The birds were so inspired by the sound of the aluminium strips, that they immediately joined the music as improvising musicians and continued to play with us in an often very loud and competetive way for more than an hour. The birds stopped only after we had stopped. The event was not planned, it just happened .."

or Douglas Quinn "In live with the birds each species hears the other in a probing of sensibility and structure. The group describes a protracted structure within the 'score' .. the principle of musical expression is not the result of a set of instructions per se; the design of a unique instrument and the exploration of its potential and limits serve as an organising premise ..."

Quinn himself composed Oropendola, music by and from birds using samples, sorta musique concrete, and presentations of different species morning choruses etc. he'd recorded.

and many other documents i haven't neard exist, all these from the Het Appolohuis collective (The Netherlands, via Forced Exposure)

― george gosset (gegoss), Thursday, 30 January 2003 10:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

"walk the dog" by laurie anderson is subtle, "dogs barking" by the &@#$hole surfers o.t.t. -- the principle: dogs barking on a record will induce a surround-sound extra-stereo dogs barking effect when played at the right volume in the right suburban setting

― george gosset (gegoss), Thursday, 30 January 2003 10:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

peaches is a bit of a dog.

― matthew james (matthew james), Thursday, 30 January 2003 12:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

douglas quin has another selction of field recordings from antactica on the miramar label which has to be heard for the seal-song - like a crazed pauline oliveros circa '65 - fantastic

― bob snoom, Thursday, 30 January 2003 12:25 (10 years ago) Permalink

I've gotta disc of dog-team howling fits from the Yukon Territory. No, really, I do.

― Lee G (Lee G), Thursday, 30 January 2003 15:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

― adaml (adaml), Thursday, 23 October 2003 16:52 (9 years ago) Permalink

>I've gotta disc of dog-team howling fits from the Yukon Territory. No, really, I do.

I've got that, too. It's great.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Thursday, 23 October 2003 16:56 (9 years ago) Permalink

One of the guys who teaches jazz composition at New School does a lot of work with dogs. Auditions them and everything.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Thursday, 23 October 2003 17:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

My dog has enormous howling fits every time a siren goes by the window. Which happens often. I should make him audition.

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Thursday, 23 October 2003 17:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

Charlotte Chu- no, I won't say it.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 23 October 2003 18:54 (9 years ago) Permalink

ben wolfinsohn (of friends forever fame / sic?) did a short on some guy who lives in la and has a goat who "plays music." but what it really consisted of was a goat walking around in this contraption of strings and percussive instruments that would make noise when he hit them / walked on them. fucking goats.

― Dean Gulberry (deangulberry), Thursday, 23 October 2003 19:02 (9 years ago) Permalink

I guess Singing Sheep and Singing Dogs don't count :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 23 October 2003 21:57 (9 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

HATEBEAK

http://www.wfmu.org/listen.m3u?show=11618&archive=13929&starttime=1:01:35

Grind Metal with a Parrot on vocals. Serious.

― People love Gravity and Ebullition! (ex machina), Friday, 25 June 2004 19:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

http://www.reptilianrecords.com/reptilian/hatebeek.html

― People love Gravity and Ebullition! (ex machina), Friday, 25 June 2004 19:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

The brilliant Jim Nollman owns this thread.

― ben tausig (datageneral), Friday, 25 June 2004 19:43 (8 years ago) Permalink

"Hatebeak pecks your eyes out and assaults your ears in a flurry of pummeling riffs and grey feathers that leaves you lying in a pool of blood begging for more."

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 25 June 2004 20:37 (8 years ago) Permalink

Caninus has 2 pit bulls are their lead vocalists. Pretty fuckin' gnarly: www.pitbullgrindcore.com
There's a sick MP3 up there for your sampling pleasure.

― Neb Reyob (Ben Boyer), Friday, 25 June 2004 22:42 (8 years ago) Permalink

Is it possible to master your sound recording on a lyrebird?

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Friday, 25 June 2004 22:48 (8 years ago) Permalink

it was about a gorilla who recorded an entire CD last year. I think it even wrote the songs!

I still love that!

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Saturday, 26 June 2004 00:28 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

douglas quin has another selction of field recordings from antactica on the miramar label which has to be heard for the seal-song - like a crazed pauline oliveros circa '65 - fantastic

Douglas Quin's "Antarctica" -- wow. Five stars must hear. snoom's description is dead on, this sounds like "I of IV" or some of Laurie Spiegel's more dissonant pieces.

listening to this and thinking -- who needs electronic music? (well, I do, but this really does underline the fact that a lot of 'abstract' electronic music is in fact taking direct leads from the sounds of animal communication)

― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 00:52 (7 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

i did a blog of the bird thing that done got posted on waht is awesome

http://cvpc.org.uk/2010/03/barbican-gig-review-a-journey-into-avant-finch/

― louis do not fuck achewood (acoleuthic), Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:35 (3 years ago) Permalink

hermeto pascoal had soungs w/ pigs

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:38 (3 years ago) Permalink

and frogs

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:38 (3 years ago) Permalink

(here's a youtube preview, just imagine this but with about 20 guitars, 10 cymbals and loads of people milling around)

― louis do not fuck achewood (acoleuthic), Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:40 (3 years ago) Permalink

I want to go back there at a time of day when no-one's around and chase the birdies until they play what I want them to, maybe Music For 18 Musicians. It'll be worth getting barred from the Barbican for.

― Matt #2, Thursday, 11 March 2010 01:15 (3 years ago) Permalink

took problem chimp to celeste boursier-mougenot

― louis do not fuck achewood (acoleuthic), Thursday, 11 March 2010 01:16 (3 years ago) Permalink

― rinse the lemonade (Jordan), Thursday, 11 March 2010 01:29 (3 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

http://emusician.com/em_spotlight/bernie_krause_interview/index2.html

Ever heard a tree singing? It's 70 kHz. This is a B&K 4103, which has a range of 0.1 Hz to 100 kHz. It's used to record dolphins. The dolphin is the highest frequency creature on the planet. Whales are the lowest on the planet. Their lowest sounds go down to 3 or 4 Hz, because they want to transmit over long distances. And the Ganges river dolphin goes up to 356 kHz.

How did you know to record the tree?
We were recording bats, and we had a bat detector, which is, essentially, a frequency divider. We were listening for the sounds of bats, which are up in the 47 kHz range. And we heard a steady signal, very unbiological in the sense of being a creature. As we moved closer to this cottonwood tree, the signal level increased.

We drilled a little hole in the tree and put this hydrophone in. We had an instrumentation device with us that could record a frequency that high, and we got a signal coming from the trunk of the tree. We couldn't figure out what it was. Then we slowed it down by a factor of seven, to get it down within our hearing range.

What we discovered was that, during a drought, the cells in the xylem of the tree usually maintain a certain pressure from the water that comes into the trunk during normally wet seasons. When that pressure drops during a drought, the cells automatically fill with air to try to maintain the osmotic pressure. And when they get too dry and they're pumping in air, they pop. When they pop, they die, and the dead cells form the tree's rings.

So, when they pop, they make a noise: we can't hear it, but insects can. And when insects hear multiple cells popping, they're drawn to the tree because certain ones are programmed to expect sap. And when the insects are drawn to the tree, the birds are drawn to the tree to eat. it's all a microhabitat formed by sound: The sound of popping cells.

― Milton Parker, Thursday, 1 July 2010 18:40 (2 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Can we get this guy a Willowtip deal:

― Amoeba, Fish, Monkey, Shame (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 27 July 2012 09:53 (10 months ago) Permalink

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