The sounds of nature: Prominent and environmentally conscious local musicians Navicula and Endah N Rhesa join forces for a UN Live global initiative to generate conservation funding. Photo The Jakarta Post

Acclaimed Indonesian musicians Endah N Rhesa and Navicula have been selected to join other world musicians to recognize nature as a "musician" in their works to help generate conservation funding.

As part of a global initiative by the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live called “Sounds Right”, the sounds of nature will now have an official artist page called “NATURE” on major streaming platforms.

Musicians can start listing them on their songs as a feature to split their revenues with a registered charity from the initiative.

At least 50 percent of the royalties from streaming of songs featuring NATURE will be directed to biodiversity conservation and restoration projects worldwide. Sounds Right’s expert advisory panel mentioned Indo-Burma, India, Myanmar and the Tropical Andes as some of the key regions to be donated to.

Artists across the globe, from the United Kingdom to Indonesia, have joined the initiative by releasing new tracks or remixing old hits to feature NATURE. Some prominent names include electronic musician Brian Eno with the late David Bowie, pop stars Ellie Goulding, AURORA and UMI with V of K-pop outfit BTS.

Big acts from other parts of the world including Colombian band Bomba Estéreo and Kenyan musician Blinky Bill also joined the movement.

Endah N Rhesa and Navicula, each dabbling in different genres, collaborated for this initiative and released a song in English last Thursday called “Segara Gunung” that features NATURE.

It includes sounds of birdsong from the archipelago’s tropical rainforests and oceans. Both Navicula and Endah N Rhesa have long been outspoken in urging climate change action through their music and activism.

Bali-hailing Navicula is an influential rock band in the country while Endah N Rhesa is a prominent indie duo making their name since the 2000s. “Nature is our source and biggest influence in everything we do—in our work, our art and our lives,” Endah, one-half of the indie outfit, said on the importance of the initiative in a statement.

Celebrated musician Brian Eno said this was a way to “give back to nature [and] help preserve the planet”. Eno remixed the track “Get Real”, which he cowrote with David Bowie in the mid-1990s, to include the sounds of wild animals.

The initiative was launched to commemorate Earth Day, which falls on Monday, and aims to help music listeners partake in combating climate change simply by streaming songs  featuring NATURE. - The Jakarta Post