A collection worth celebrating: Earth Songs
Aaron English from the newly formed collective and eco-anthem winners, Echoes of Eden
At this time of global gloom, many people crave music that raises the spirit. At Artists Project Earth (APE), we decided to try and find such music by initiating an international competition. We can now proudly present to you four unique ‘Earth Songs’ selected from 120 submissions sent to us as part of our eco-anthem music competition.
The competition judges, which included Satish Kumar and folk singer Sam Lee, had many inspired songs to choose from. After much deliberation, we crowned these four worthy winners:
‘The Earth is Calling’, by Baque Luar, a London-based percussion and vocal collective.
‘Our World’, by Nigerian artist Michael U.
‘Wild in Your Eyes’, by Cardiff-based composer Felix Lindsell-Hales.
‘The Wise Goat’, by Echoes of Eden, an international collaboration led by Aaron English from the U.S, Zambian artist Theresa Ng'ambi and Pakistani vocalist Zara Madani.
These four songs vividly demonstrate the vital role that music can play in celebrating the glories of nature in the face of the great damage we are doing to it.
The 120 songs that were submitted to us are consistently of remarkable quality, in terms of both message and melody. We soon realised that the definition of an eco-anthem varies greatly: some of the songs were punchy and punky; others took a softer, more lyrical or philosophical approach. They all share a profound sense of reverence for our home planet.
The four winning songs were presented to us as demos, and they’ve since gone through an elaborate process of re-recording, mixing, and mastering. Help us ensure that many people across the world get access to these songs, and maybe feel inspired to sing along. Please listen and spread the word. All royalties from sales are split between Artists Project Earth and the artists themselves. Every like, share, and listen from you is greatly appreciated.
Our Supporters
We’d like to thank the many supporters of this project and to celebrate the collaborative spirit in which it came about. It was overseen by author, filmmaker, and APE trustee Herbert Girardet, and writer Yasmin Dahnoun, and supported by renowned educator Satish Kumar.
We extend our special thanks to The Resurgence Trust for being partners in this project. We also wish to thank the Tedworth Charitable Trust and Fattoria La Vialla for their generous support. A very special thanks also to Rockfield Studio in Monmouth, which allowed one of the artists to re-record his song free of charge.
Artists Project Earth
If this is your first visit to the APE website, please have a good look. There is much to see: since 2005, we have brought out five albums with tracks from many of the world’s leading rock stars. With the substantial royalties from these albums, we have supported around 400 ecology and disaster relief projects worldwide, whilst also funding visual arts with an ecological theme. Any proceeds from the Earth Songs competition will support more projects in support of our precious living planet. So please buy our songs and encourage your friends to do so as well. Your active support is very precious to us!
