Birdengine
Lawry Joseph Tilbury, also known as Birdengine, is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Winterbourne Steepleton, Dorset and now residing in Seaford, East Sussex.[1]
Birdengine | |
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Birdengine at End Of The Road Festival 2008 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Lawry Joseph Tilbury |
Born | Dorset, England |
Origin | United Kingdom |
Genres | Experimental, freak folk, pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 2005 | — present
Labels | Benbecula Records, Drift Records, Bleeding Heart Records, Thee Evil Twin |
Website | birdengine |
Career
In 2005, Tilbury released his debut EP Birdengine, a collection of experimental tape melodies, on the now defunct Scottish label Benbecula Records. The self-produced EP was hailed as "the first relevant work of freak-folktronica" by Stylus Magazine.[2][3][4][5]
Another EP Early 4-track recordings (2006) was released on Benbecula, with several reviewers noting Tilbury's "natural talent for story telling".[6][7]
In 2007, Independent label Drift Records released I Fed Thee Rabbit Water, a mini-album of wandering folk songs which garnered Tilbury praise for his stark nylon guitar playing,[8] and deadpan humour "There's not likely to be a more arresting opening couplet to an album this year":[9]
- I spent the Summer cutting Heads off Dogs,
- I spent the Winter trying to sew them back on[10]
- - Heads Off Dogs, I Fed Thee Rabbit Water
Tilbury spent 2010 at producer David Ringland's[11] home studio in Hove, recording songs to a 16 track reel-to-reel tape player. These sessions culminated in the debut full-length LP The Crooked Mile and a later EP I Like Totally Do Not Understand Or Whatever, released in 2011 by Lynch(ed) Recording[12] and A Beard of Snails Records[13] respectively. The Crooked Mile garnered widely positive reviews, and was described by Uncut as "...like a waltz for the dead – the results are unmistakable and unsettling.",[14] and by The Quietus as "Outsider Music, riddled with themes of alienation and a sense of not belonging; an outcast even among the freaks".[15] Tilbury is currently writing and recording music for film and future releases.[16]
Style and performance
Birdengine's live performances have been described as "both unnerving and intriguing in equal measures",[8] having "strange and compelling beauty"[17] and a "bizarre, yet deeply likeable tone".[18]
Additionally, Tilbury frequently collaborates with friend and artist Daniel Michael Clark – together releasing the experimental album Trunk (2008) on Indie label Woodland Recordings (under the moniker "Mortis Tobias"),[19] as well as occasionally performing live.[20] Other Birdengine collaborators include Brighton musicians Samuel Collins[21] and Kristin McClement.[22]
Discography
Studio albums
- I Fed Thee Rabbit Water (2007, Drift Records)
- The Crooked Mile (2011, Bleeding Heart Recordings)
EPs
- Birdengine EP (2005, Benbecula Records)
- Early 4 Track Recordings EP (2006, Benbecula Records)
- Black Dictaphone EP (2009, Thee Evil Twin)
- I Like Totally Do Not Understand Or Whatever EP (2011, A Beard of Snails Records)
- No Arms And No Friends / Ghost Club (2011, Lynch(ed) Recordings)
With other musicians
- Trunk (credited as 'Mortis Tobias & Clara Kindle') (2008, with Daniel Clark)
References
- Birdengine website., Retrieved 19 September 2010. Archived 28 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- Bryan Berge, Stylus magazine, November 2005, p. 68.
- Birdengine EP on Bleep website. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- Phonica Records, Dec Newsletter, 2005, p. 14.
- Ron Schepper, ‘Birdengine EP Review’, Textura. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- Everett True, 'Birdengine – Birdengine EP', Careless Talk Costs Lives, Dec 2005, p. 80.
- Birdengine EP Reviews, Benbecula Records website. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- Jason Walnut, Birdengine "I Fed Thee Rabbit Water" (Drift 2007) Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Americana UK website. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- Andy Gill, An Exclusive preview of next months album releases, The Independent website. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- Birdengine, "I Fed Thee Rabbit Water" CD, Drift, 2007.
- Lawry Tilbury, Birdengine Album Finished, Tumblr blog. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- Lynch(ed) Recordings Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine website. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- "Discography". A Beard of Snails Records. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Birdengine Blog. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- Graham, Ben. "Reviews Birdengine". thequietus.com. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- Tilbury, Lawry. "Birdengine Blog". birdengine.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- Helen Mitchell, Birdengine Live Review, Maverick Magazine, Issue 80: March 2008, p. 94.
- Mark Dishman (15 May 2009) The Great Escape: Birdengine, The Basement, Brighton, 14 May, The Argus Newspaper. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- Trunk – WR014 Archived 5 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Woodland Recordings website. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- Daniel Michael Clark, Birdengine Live Set, Artist website. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- Nione Meakin, Mortis Tobias Interview, The Argus Newspaper website. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- Kristin McClement, Birdengine Collaboration: My Favourite Things, Artist blog. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
External links
- Official website
- Official blog
- Birdengine on Myspace
- Birdengine on Facebook
- Birdengine on Bandcamp