‘I wanted a T-rex at first!’ Musician creates orchestral album from horse’s skeleton bought on eBay

A musician who created an album centred around the “sonic explorations” of a thoroughbred’s skeleton said he is trying to tell the history of music through his work.

British artist, producer, composer and experimentalist Matthew Herbert collaborated with the London Contemporary Orchestra, and others, to create The Horse, having bought the skeleton for £500 from ebay.

“Herbert’s passion, respect and love for the animal is at the forefront of this incredible musical creation,” a spokesman for the artist said. “In a feat of musical artistry, Herbert uses horse-skin drums, flutes made from the thigh bones, bows crafted from the ribs and hair, gut string stretched over the pelvis, and a shaker created by mixing cement with polo horse semen, to create the album. He has cherished horses on his farm in Kent and the subject of the horse and its significance in human history became a vital focus for the project.”

Mr Herbert told H&H he was in talks with a record label about creating an album, and wanted to do something different.

“I was looking on eBay for the biggest skeleton I could find – I knew I wanted to make a record out of one – and a horse came up, with only a day left, so I bought it quickly,” he said.

“There aren’t many skeletons on eBay and they’re quite small; I wanted a T-rex when I started! But had no idea how much one would cost. I bought it from someone who had used it to teach anatomy and was emigrating. He had a sheep and a horse; I ended up paying £500, and I’m really glad I went for the horse, not the sheep.

“It arrived and I didn’t really know what to do with it; I pretended I hadn’t bought a horse skeleton for a couple of weeks, and when I plucked up the courage to open the boxes, I was confronted with something extraordinary.”

Mr Herbert had limited time to make the album, so had an intense introduction to the world of horses. He has land and stables at his home in Kent, which he rents out, so he “gets all the benefits of having horses without having to pick up the poo!”

The record includes 6,900 equine sounds, including snorts and whinnies, and the instruments move from bone flutes to traditional ones, to electronic versions, as he tries to tell the history of music, from skin drums to computers.

“We wouldn’t have music without animals, whether we’re talking about drum skins or violin and guitar strings, which have long been made from animal guts,” he said. “Bows for stringed instruments are made from horsehair and, of course, violins and cellos are made from felled trees. We are literally exploiting living things to produce and compose music. It’s our duty to find a less violent and healthier relationship with our environment, whether we’re talking about music itself or our way of life.”

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