Re-enchanting ourselves with the natural world through folk music and birdsong with Sam Lee

Mercury Music Prize nominated folksinger, Sam Lee, has journeyed throughout the British Isles collecting the Indigenous songs of the lands and absorbing the ancient wisdom and knowledge embedded within them. In this episode, Sam shares his personal story of nature connection, and how he became a leader of pilgrimages to the Sussex countryside, where people gather in communion with the Nightingales for an inter-species collaboration of birdsong and music.

In Sam’s We As Nature story he shares:

• How he came to discover the magical realm of the Nightingales and their amazing relationship with humans
• A glimpse into his inner-city childhood and the culture of music he grew up with
• The ways in which Forest School Camps ignited his relationship with the wilderness and introduced him to rituals and folk music
• His fascination with devotional music from diverse communities across the globe, inspired by studying anthropology at Birkbeck and ethnomusicology
• His apprenticeship with Stanley Robertson - the last surviving member of an ancient lineage of Scottish travellers - who shared with Sam his profound repertoire and knowledge of ancient songs
• The extraordinary power of music as a pathway to our re-enchantment with the natural world
• The purpose that has emerged in Sam’s life through learning how to hold your art and share it, and the importance of this being done in diverse communities that are open to all

Find out more about Sam’s work:

• Website, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook
• The Nest Collective 
• Watch the short film, Singing With The Nightingales
• Singing With Nightingale events
• Song Collectors Archive
• Sam Lee’s book, ‘The Nightingale: Notes On A Songbird’, is available here
• The music you heard in this episode can be found here, featuring Cosmo Sheldrake on the banjo, Tommy Black-Roff on the accordion and Sam Lee on the shruti box.

Credits
Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith on behalf of Flourishing Diversity
Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin
Live Event Production: Katy Molloy, Andrea Langlois and Laura Tyley
Illustrations: Rohama Malik

About Flourishing Diversity
We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity.

Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems.

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