Poppy Ackroyd: ““The songs were recorded just outside of Brighton at Retreat Studios, close to the sea on the edge of the village, surrounded by hills, fields and wildlife. As if by magic, it began to rain just before I began to record the track ‘Rain’, and ended shortly after I finished. You can hear the rain build and then die away with the music on the finished piece.”
A post-classical composer influenced by the textures and improvisational vibe of electronic music, Poppy Ackroyd‘s new record is a step back from her more envelope-pushing, piano-tapping persona. The feeling in her music, whether solo or with the Hidden Orchestra, has always had this sense of wonder, an endless gaze way outside the everyday.
It’s a record that feels like a place of solace, hope and creation. We walk, we take a breath and we rediscover the good and the pure.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
