New CD!
New album. Ready for pre-order!! Recorded in the beautiful Ayre Studios in Yorkshire.
September 2025 sees the release of a double CD of 24 new works for saxophones and piano by acclaimed composer Edward Cowie. 'Because they have Songs' features 24 African birds from Botswana.
Because They Have Songs is the fourth in Cowie’s epic series of duo-works featuring cycles of stunning ‘sonic portraits’ of birds he has encountered on his travels across the world, exploring the relationships between the bird singers, and where and how they sing. It follows three highly acclaimed releases featuring birds of the UK (Bird Portraits MSV 28619), Australia (Where Song Was Born MSV 28620) and the US (Where the Wood Thrush Forever Sings MEX 77104), each highlighting 24 distinct bird species.
This latest release, the fifteenth to feature his music on the Métier label, is devoted to 24 avian wonders of Africa. The title of the album is taken from a traditional African text which says, “Why do birds sing? Because they have songs”. Edward Cowie went on safari to remote parts of Botswana, across dense bush and open plains where giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and antelope roam, through vast wetlands, majestic rivers and lakes, and shrub-dotted deserts.
On his journey he sketched what he saw (included in the album booklet) and transcribed the natural sounds of insects, the noises of animals in movement, and the magnificent and powerful voices of African birds in all their moods and colours. The result is a vibrant and awe-inspiring interweaving of not only the sounds of singing creatures but also the rich environment in which they sing.
The album has revelatory performances from Gerard McChrystal, justly hailed as a “magician” on saxophone, partnered with Richard Shaw’s superb craftsmanship on piano, a comprehensive coupling of technique and imagination.
