Today, Leftover Salmon banjo player Andy Thorn released an album titled Songs of the Sunrise Fox, a project that was inspired by a chance encounter he experienced when a wild fox approached him, sat and enjoyed his music while he improvised on his banjo in his back yard. The moment was captured by his wife and went viral, garnering millions of views online.

Since then, Thorn has discussed the experience on television shows like Kelly Clarkson Show, The Dodo, A & E’s Neighborhood Wars, and even Slate‘s podcast Political Gabfest chatted about the once-in-a-lifetime moment. After New York Times writer Ferris Jabr called the video “a moment plucked from Aesop,” Thorn finally recorded the improvised song and named it “Aesop Mountain.”

Invigorated by the publicity, Thorne continued to record banjo instrumentals and ended up with 14-tracks that resulted in Songs of the Sunrise Fox. The project is a contrast to his usual jamming, high-energy picking that stands out on Leftover Salmon tracks but rather is a collection of stilling, calming calls to nature that he’d play for his friend “Foxy” at the break of dawn. The raw recordings also feature Erik Deutsch on piano, Greg Garrison on bass and Tyler Grant on guitar.

“Aesop Mountain” was released a month ahead of the full project and already has over 100,000 plays on Spotify. Of the project, Thorn said, “I really enjoyed turning it into a full band tune, and Erik Deutsch’s piano brought it all together.” The LP also includes an acoustic solo version of the song as the closing track. According to a press release, the fox that trotted up to Thorne has her own cubs now, and Thorne hopes they’ll enjoy the music as much as the millions that have already.

Songs of the Sunrise Fox Track List:

1. Aesop Mountain (3:28)

2. Barry’s Bounce (1:40)

3. Red Sun Salutation (2:44)

4. Dawn is Coming (3:42)

5. Stork Bite (2:22)

6. Monarch Morning (3:39)

7. The Morning Light (1:25)

8. Whisker Twitchin’ (1:02) 

9. Fox’s Fancy (3:06)

10. Fabled Way (3:45)

11. Trot Along (1:37)

12. Fox Trail (3:05)

13. Sun Pillar (1:54)

14. Silver Thorn (3:24)

15. Aesop Mountain (2:20)

Watch a trailer for the LP below.