Friendly Rich
The Birds of Marsville

out: August 15th, 2025 on We Are Busy Bodies (LP/DL)
genres: Experimental, Modern Composition

FRIENDLY RICH:  friendlyrich.com | friendlyrich.bandcamp.com
WE ARE BUSY BODIES: wearebusybodies.com | wearebusybodies.bandcamp.com

Since the 1990’s Friendly Rich (aka Rich Marsella) has been gathering a cult following around his avant-cabaret song output, but on this outing, he dives headlong into something completely different. Wielding a custom-built orchestrion (a peculiar mechanical organ) made by the 88-year-old Henk Degraauw of Marsella’s hometown of Brampton, he has produced a concept album revolving around the avian population of an imaginary island and their songs. Not only does this make for all manner of bizarre lore, it also elicits some of his most inventive and potent music to date.

COVERAGE:
List — New Albums and Songs for August 15, 2025, New Releases Now
List — New Album Releases, Exclaim!
List — Upcoming Releases, Tinnitist
List — Upcoming Canadian Releases, Cups N Cakes
List/ News — 16 more highlights for the second half of August!, The Progspace
News — Eksperiment
News — Out Out
News/ Info — AllMusic Guide
News / Mention — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Broken Social Scene’s ‘You Forgot it In People’ Gets Reimagined, Born Ruffians and Mother Mother Drop New Music, Billboard Canada
News/ Mention — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Album Releases: Kaytranada Delivers His Fourth Full-Length ‘Ain’t No Damn Way!’, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Neil Young, Common Holly, The Barr Brothers, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Album Releases: U.S. Girls Delivers ‘Scratch It,’ Aysanabee Releases ‘Edge of the Earth’, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Album Releases: Mac DeMarco, Anne Murray & Sarah McLachlan Announce New Albums, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Album Releases: Justin Bieber’s New Album ‘Swag’ Is Here, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Album Releases: Kiesza, Daniel Caesar, Three Days Grace & More, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Karan Aujla Gives the First Taste of His Anticipated New Album, ‘P-Pop Culture’, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Rising Singer-Songwriter Ada Lea Releases ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’, Billboard Canada
List — Kerry Doole, New & Upcoming Canadian Albums: Singer-Songwriter Kathleen Edwards Delivers ‘Billionaire’, Billboard Canada
Interview — Anya Wassenberg, INTERVIEW | Brampton Composer/Musician/Mechanical Organ Enthusiast Friendly Rich Marsella Talks About The Birds Of Marsville, Ludwig Van
Article — Friendly Rich: “man, these birds are nuts!”, Simmering
Mini-Review — Andy Cowan, Mojo
Mini-Review/ Socials — Viking In The Wilderness
Review — Chris Ingalls, PopMatters
Review — Outside Noise
Review — Frédéric Cardin, Pan M 360
Review — David Reed, Belleville Intelligencer
Review — Tiina Kiik, The WholeNote
Review — Isotope, KFJC
Review — Roland Torres, Silence and Sound
Review — Eric W. Saeger, The Hippo
Review — Russell Trunk, Exclusive Magazine
Review — Jon Worley, Aiding and Abetting
Review/ Socials — Outside Noise (Instagram/ TikTok)
Review/ Socials — Viking In The Wilderness
Review/ Round-up — A.I. House Painter, Outsideleft Week in Music. Monstrous. OutsideLeft
Review/ Round-up — ORGAN THING: Two albums today, the strawberry flavoured hardcore alt.noise of Prayer Group and this weird and wonderful record from Friendly Rich…, The Organ
Round-up — Frank P. Eckert, Motherboard: Oktober 2025, Groove.de
Podcast — Different Noises #99
Podcast/ Interview — The Go Go Magic Radio Show (August 4, 2025)
Radio/ Chart — Top 10,  Experimental/ Contemporary Classical, CJSW (September 18, 2025)
Radio/ Chart — Top 10,  Experimental/ Contemporary Classical, CJSW (September 11, 2025)
Radio — DeeDee Fink, KFJC (December 20, 2025)
Radio — Dewey Poutine, KFJC (December 18, 2025)
Radio — Melody in Mayhem, Asheville FM (November 14, 2025)
Radio — Acheulean Age, CJSW (November 8, 2025)
Radio — Muzyka Ucha Trzeciego, Rockserwis.FM (October 16, 2025)
Radio — KBOO (October 6, 2025)
Radio — KBOO Sub Show, KBOO (October 6, 2025)
Radio — Acheulian Age, CJSW (September 13, 2025)
Radio — Noise, CJSW (September 11, 2025)
Radio — Acheulian Age, CJSW (September 6, 2025)
Radio — Esoterica etc., WPKN (September 5, 2025)
Radio — Noise, CJSW (September 4, 2025)
Radio — Bepi Crespan Presents, CITR (August 30, 2025)
Radio — Vocal Cords, CJSW (August 25, 2025)
Radio — Serious Moonlight Sonatas with Carol, WFMU (August 17, 2025)
Radio — Electric Sense, CIUT (August 7, 2025)
Radio — Transcendent Phase, KWVA (July 29, 2025)
Radio — Humanoid Radio, CFRU (July 22, 2025)
Radio — Humanoid Radio, CFRU (July 8, 2025)
Radio — Pushing The Envelope, WHUS (June 14, 2025)
Radio — Electric Sense, CIUT (June 12, 2025)
Radio — Waking the Intonarumori, WCSB (June 9, 2025)
Radio — Melody in Mayhem, Asheville FM (June 6, 2025)
Radio/ Feature — Notranje gorice, RadioStudent FM 89.3 (June 5, 2025)