one thousand birds symphony
GRICE
“a study in feathered strength and iridescence’
Award winning album ’one thousand birds symphony’ is an instrumental 10 track album by British art-rock musician and producer GRICE. The album is a majestic collection of symphonic compositions and arrangements mixed with original field recordings of exquisite dawn choruses and solo birdsong accompanied by an iridescent cast of musicians who join the sonic murmuration.
The album was recorded from March to December 2020 deep in The Shire at a time of disintegration and derailment where human activity was for the most part suspended leaving a deafening silence, a sacred space filled with intricate birdsong and the exquisite voices of a thousand feathered choristers. The album is accompanied by original artwork and short films created by the artist whilst he was recording and arranging the compositions. one thousand birds symphony’ was created when the artist developed a strong personal connection with robins and blackbirds in his garden, as a way of dealing with feelings of loss and isolation.
The instrumental pieces are enhanced by an iridescent cast of musicians including sonic innovator Richard Barbieri, renowned Egyptian percussionist Hossam Ramzy and Italian avant-garde trumpet player Luca Calabrese amongst a select group of UK musicians who interact with and respond to the bird-song and individual bird calls.
Listen on Bandcamp:
https://grice.bandcamp.com/album/one-thousand-birds-symphony
‘one thousand birds symphony’ album trailer
Album reviews
“This masterpiece entailed quite a sum of patience and intellectual creation in the formation of a majestic program of partial symphonic compositions mixed with actual field recordings of various birds and other nature sounds and brilliant electronically created sounds, then arranged around melodies and songs. Highly Recommended” – Big Beautiful Noise
“Avant jazz and ambient compositions, which are built around field recordings of birdsong(s). Stunning and stark all at once, utilizing all manner of guitars, keyboards, percussion, horns and cello, and of course, the birds themselves, this is a lovely journey throughout. Favourite track: agent starling (high roller glitch).”
“There are bewitching passages of avant-classical beauty, a true original” – PROG magazine
“This is stunningly clever, and to my mind a genius work.’” – The Progressive Aspect
Short Film: Bloom Festival & Film Awards
:To accompany the release of the ‘one thousand birds symphony’ album, GRICE created a short film combining song-bird footage, murmurations captured on location and digital artwork. The film was submitted to a number of Film Festivals (via Filmfreeway) and amassed 14 awards including:
- Best Music Feature: Mykonos International Film Awards (Greece)
- Best Arthouse Short Film: Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival (Italy)
- Best Original Music Score: Cine Paris Film Festival (France)
- Semi-finalist: Best First Music Video (Sweden Film Awards), Universal Film Festival Samothraki Wildlife & Environment, Greece
- Finalist: Best Original Score: World Class Film Awards (Mexico)
- Special Mention: United Kingdom Music Video Festival
- Official selection: Golden Soundtrack – Golden Short Film Festival (Italy), London Lift-Off Film Festival (UK), First-Time Filmmaker Sessions @ Pinewood Studios, Garofano Rosso FIlm Festival (Italy), Best First Time Director – Mykonos International Film Awards (Greece), English Riviera Film Festival.
In May 2022, the short film was premiered in surround sound at the Bloom Festival in Studio 74 (solar-powered cinema) at Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week to a sold out audience, including a blind person who marvelled at the experience. Bloom Festival is a fee day event aiming to celebrate mental wellbeing and raise awareness of mental health issues with a programme of workshops, talks, films, poetry & more. This short film was also screened at the English Riviera Film Festival as part of their 10th Anniversary celebrations in 2024.
Audience feedback:
“Absolutely gorgeous hopeful and stimulating”.
“Love this – I know many people (including myself) who found the lockdowns were a time to notice what was around us. We couldn’t travel but it was surprising just how much of nature was at our own back door – and the birds were the stars of the show!”
“Reconnecting with nature, and its simple joys, was great medication for the stresses of the pandemic experience and a lesson we’re determined not to forget”.
The short film and album were partly supported by the Emergency Response Fund (ACE).
Bloom Festival short film
In July 2025, ‘one thousand birds symphony’ was developed and presented as a surround sound immersive performance and installation at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (Gallery 20) in Exeter as part of WILD. The event included a daytime free drop-in event open to the general public, including children and their parents who are frequent users of the museum followed by an evening performance/ticketed event which was sold out.
WILD is an exhibition which explores our relationship with the natural world and looks at how people across the globe are creating, rebuilding and repairing connections.
The performance was set in a virtual sonic forest of layered imagery, bird-scapes and sonics and presented the one thousand birds symphony album in its full glory, embellished by electronic glitch and live improvised instrumentation to form a dynamic surround sound soundscape. The music was accompanied by an hour long film which was an expansion of the original short film created by the artist.
The audience was invited to discover and develop the lost art of listening, to revel in the exquisitely varied soundscapes and sweet sonatas that surround us all and to explore ecological interconnections and the harmony and tension between humanity and the natural world. This event emphasised the effect of nature on mental health and was designed to raise awareness of ‘The Red List’ of endangered birds and their habitats.
‘A harmonic and sometimes dissonant conversation between humans and the natural world’. G
RAMM performance trailer
RAMM performance audience feedback
“1000 Birds Symphony is a sonic and visual journey inspired by and celebrating the beauty and love of birds and bird song. The live music never overpowers the underlying songs of a large variety of birds , and serves as an accompaniment to the animated and natural visual images on screen, which are beautifully created and mesmeric. Both the music and visuals combine to give the audience a calm and timeless experience. One Thousand Birds Symphony feels like a wonderful acknowledgement and celebration of the richness and beauty of bird life, and is a gorgeous reminder of just how much birds enhance our human lives.“
“I loved the large videos on the walls and the birdsong it really felt that one was sitting in a field immersed in the experience. Very effective. Then the music … When it started I was a bit unsure as whether it would distract me from the birdsong. But as it went on I closed my eyes to listen more carefully, and found that the music sometimes blended, sometimes echoed the sounds or patterns of the birdsong. It was an unexpected invitation and I am very pleased to have been able to attend.”
“The soundscape and film were really meditative and comforting, though the themes of extinction and mental anguish evoked different feelings. Overall, the evening delighted, sharing pleasure in everyday small occurrences in the natural world and, consequently, building hope.“
“Love this – I know many people (including myself) who found the lockdowns were a time to notice what was around us. We couldn’t travel but it was surprising just how much of nature was at our own back door – and the birds were the stars of the show! Reconnecting with nature, and its simple joys, was great medication for the stresses of the pandemic experience and a lesson we’re determined not to forget.”
“The philosophy of birds – their iridescence, endurance, vulnerability and strength and their musical integrity is something to behold. This music is dedicated to the birds, the true masters in the art of life (and flying). These are my letters from isolation and this my tribute to the birds. Their majesty saved me from myself and I owe them much. May there always be birdsong above the battlefields.” GRICE
London-born art-rock musician, singer-songwriter, producer and social entrepreneur.
In 2002, GRICE founded Sound Gallery in Exeter, as a not for profit artist development organisation with support from the Elmgrant Trust (Lord Young) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
In 2007, he founded Sound Gallery CIC with an aim to increase creative and educational opportunities for disadvantaged and fragile young people living in and around Exeter, to create a creative hub for local musicians and help more disadvantaged local young people to develop personal, social and vocational skills and to provide the highest quality of musical experience for young people, in order to encourage enjoyment and further involvement.
In 2008, he set up Sound Gallery Studios (recently winner of the Corporate Livewire Innovation and Excellence Awards) at Exeter Phoenix arts centre in order to provide professional recording, music production services and training courses for a community of musicians, artists and creatives as well as the wider music industry including record labels, film makers, authors, radio stations, TV, and film companies.
He has designed and delivered music enrichment projects and educational programmes (ERA: Exeter Rising artists & COBRA: City of Bristol Rising Artists) for young people with an emphasis on those at risk of social exclusion and has set up music industry events and live music showcases (Analogue to Digital Music Expo, Phoenixsounds) to support independent artists and the grassroots music industry.
Throughout his musical journey as a singer-songwriter and producer GRICE has received the highest of praise from the likes of Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 6 Music) and has gained recognition within progressive artrock circles since the release of his debut album Propeller (MPG Awards, 2013). His innovative approach to sound production, his passion for experimentation with analogue and digital technologies and his talent for song-writing have led to successful collaborations with notable musicians including sax legend Raphael Ravenscroft (Pink Floyd, Vangelis/Blade Runner), Richard Barbieri (Japan, Porcupine-Tree) and more. He has released 6 studio albums on his label hungersleep records and has an impressive catalogue of his music used in documentaries and films including (BBC2 & BBC Worldwide: William and Kate – A Royal Engagement), Black Diamond films, MTV, Netflix and ‘MICA’ by French-Moroccan film director & screenwriter Ismaël Ferroukhi.
GRICE has performed live with Richard Barbieri on UK tour: Exeter Phoenix, The 7th Wave Festival of Electronic Music (Birmingham) & Hoxton Hall (London) and IB Expo Sweden: with Steve Hogarth (Marillion) at an impromptu appearance at the premier performance of ‘Naked’ (Not The Weapon but the Hand) with Richard Barbieri, David Torn and Julie Slick. He has recently performed live with two different set of musicians: ‘The Mordant Lake Band’ and ‘The Polarchoral Band’.
