New music for you

You can now listen to my second EP 'Cloud Walking'

After many moons in the making, my new EP Cloud Walking is available to listen to now. The five songs draw from my experiences on an expedition into Scotland's Cairngorm Mountains, retracing the footsteps of pioneering Scottish nature writer Nan Shepherd (1893-1981).

In September 2023, I joined eight women on a four-day expedition through the Cairngorms as part of The Following Nan Project, inspired by Nan Shepherd’s seminal work The Living Mountain. We hiked, camped, and embraced Shepherd’s philosophy of slow exploration. These experiences shaped Cloud Walking, a collection of songs blending folk-inspired harmonies, chamber pop instrumentation, and field recordings which I captured during the journey.

As with my first EP, Cloud Walking is entirely self-released. Since I was young, I’ve always loved songwriting for fun, so when I started writing music again during the pandemic, I didn’t necessarily expect to release it publicly. It wasn’t until I got a grant from Sound and Music to create new music that I realised it might be possible to be a full time musician and sound artist.

While my radio and podcast work is currently my main earner, it’s been such a joy starting to build my music career over the last few years, with a focus on the natural world and the landscapes we call home. It always brings a smile to my face when someone shares a video of their dog or cat chilling out to my music, someone says hi after a gig or when people leave comments on this Substack (speaking of which, hehe…)

^(Something I’d be interested to know is if there’s anything you’d like to hear more about in terms of the making of the EP, or if there’s anything you’d like me to focus on in my next newsletter).

The artwork

I’ve worked with some amazing collaborators on this EP. The first to mention is the fantastic Morvern Graham, who is a Scottish and Scandinavian visual designer and storyteller. Morvern made the incredible artwork for the EP, as well as the beautiful animations for each song. The artwork is inspired by the landscape of the Cairngorms: the colour of the heather, moss, rock and rivers.

It would be impossible not to create some merch with this beautiful artwork. Morvern has created a limited number of lino prints of the artwork, which you can find here. I’ve also pressed some vinyl and CDs with the music and Morvern’s artwork.

My musical collaborators

And now for my musical collaborators. Over a period of about 6 months, I rented a studio in Peckham every Tuesday for an amazing £17/day (unheard of for London!) Granted it was a small and windowless room, but perfect for a musician who doesn’t want to disturb their neighbours while having a sing song.

Each week I’d either bring in a new collaborator or edit the recordings from the previous week, slowly bringing the songs to life. My friends (and one family member - my aunt Amy) would come in and play their instruments over the songs. We’d chat about what might work and record a few takes. It was one of the most fulfilling musical experiences I’ve had - creating an EP I’m really proud of with people I love.

Guitar & keys - Jacob Norris

Joining me on backing vocals - Daisy Russell & Jacob Norris

Harp - Rachel Kitchlew

Saxophone - Amy Howard

Strings - Tom Penn

Piano - Catrin Vincent

Pedal Steel Guitar - Jake Card

Mixing - Liam Evans

Mastering - Katie Tavini

And you!

It’s been a busy and exciting week since Cloud Walking came out. On Friday, my band and I supported musicians Erland Cooper and Sam Lee at Bristol Beacon, and on Sunday we had the EP launch at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses in Brixton. Last Thursday, I went on BBC Radio Scotland to talk about the music, the EP has had a lovely review from Thomas Blake at KLOF Mag, and it has had over 20K listens across streaming platforms.

This wouldn’t be happening without your support. Thank you so much if you’ve already listened, if you came to a gig or bought my vinyl/CD. Whether you have or haven’t heard Cloud Walking yet, I hope you enjoy it and I’m excited to make and share more music with you in 2025.

Looking forwards, there’s a lot more to come! I’ve got some music, audio and field recording plans simmering away in the background, so stay tuned!

For now…

For Cloud Walking, thank you to Aisha Hussain, Ameena Rojee, Canongate Books, Catriona Bolt, Charmfactory, Emily Baker, Erlend Clouston, Ffern, Hannah Westhenry, Harriet Simms, Jennifer McGowan, Jeremy Scott, Matt Huxley, Michelle Sanders, Nicola Stone, Olly Knight-Smith, Ruth Bidgood, Sound and Music, The Following Nan Project and the many other people who have provided support, mentoring and advice. A special thank you to Iain Boyd, Emma Howard Boyd and Joe Bath.