Birdengine is the project of Lawry Joseph Tilbury. Hailing from the Dorset countryside, Tilbury's unique music spans genres from Pastoral Horror Folk to Experimental Electronica and has been described by The Independent as 'rustic-mythic weirdness' and by Uncut as 'wonderfully atmospheric'. 

 

 Having released two EP's of instrumental keyboard dirges and sound collages on Scottish label Benbecula in 2005 (described by Stylus Magazine as 'The first relevant work of freak-folktronica'), Tilbury then released the mini-album 'I Fed Thee Rabbit Water' on Drift in 2007 ('a 25 minute pastoral masterpiece’ The Independent). The self-produced debut saw Tilbury shift his sound with a collection of sparse imagery-led mystic horror folk stories and the introduction of nylon guitar and vocals.

 

With the 2011 album 'The Crooked Mile' (Bleeding Heart Records) Birdengine created a grander collection of hypnotic, pastoral and woeful songs with a full band sound and an expanded selection of instruments, The Quietus describes it as 'Haunted, dry-ditch dirges mix with soaring melodies' and UNCUT said 'it whirls like a waltz for the dead - the results are unmistakable and unsettling'

 

Following a 10 year hiatus Lawry released his third Birdengine album SOMNAM (Eyeless Records) in 2021. Another change in direction, SOMNAM utilised tape loops, vocal sampling, warped distorted synth and organic rhythms created using found sound to explore themes of grief, sleep and nostalgia whilst still retaining Tilbury's unique and original sound.

 

Birdengine has been privileged to play throughout Europe alongside many incredible artists, including Sharon Van Etten, This Is The Kit, Herman Dune and Shearwater. He has also played the magnificent Green Man Festival, as well as End Of The Road and Glastonbury. 

'nervy pastoral loneliness'
Word Magazine

'...exists in its own universe, both of our world and distinctly other.'
The Quiteus

'...magically creepy and sparsely epic, capturing the imagination...'
Americana UK

'...like visiting a museum of curiosities.......the songs are full of rustic-mythic weirdness...'
The Independent

'Both unnerving and intriguing, in equal measures.'
Maverick Magazine