'Spell Songs II: Let The Light In’ Album (12.10) Celebrates Mother Nature Through Music, Art And Literature

First Song "Oak" Available Tomorrow (11.5)

Listen to the first song "Oak" (out tomorrow), HERE

"lush guitar strums and fingerpicking" -- Folk Alley

“a literary landscape brought to life” - The Guardian

Spell Songs is a multi-faceted ensemble of award-winning musicians. It’s a collaboration with E.M Forster Award-winning author Robert Macfarlane and award-winning artist, author and illustrator Jackie Morris, creating the soundtrack of Mother Nature. On December 10th, Spell Songs will release its ’Spell Songs II: Let The Light In’ album via Thirty Tigers.

“Oak,” the album’s first track which is available everywhere tomorrow (11.5), features "lush guitar strums and fingerpicking... unfurling spaciously like the immense branches and limbs of an oak tree” (Folk Alley). Stream the track early via Folk Alley, here: folkalley.com/song-premiere-spell-songs-ii-oak

"For this song, I wanted music that had life and a sense of still, woody wisdom, like the tree at its heart,” says Kris Drever, who sings lead on the track. “[Macfarlane] and I started the lyric by exploring the number of uses that humans have now, and have had through time, for the oak’s timber. In the writing, it left me with a real tangible idea of symbiosis; how far would we have gotten without this tree? Without ships, tools, ink, shelter, furniture, wheels, toys, cradles, caskets and on and on and on. I think the oak at this point might just be waiting for us to come to our senses.”

Deemed “a literary landscape brought to life” and "a brave and magical creation” by The Guardian, Spell Songs is an immersive and hypnotic evocation of the natural world. It is inspired by Macfarlane's best-selling book ’The Lost Words’ and his follow up book ’The Lost Spells,’ which respond to the ways humans have neglected the environment. ‘Spell Songs II: Let The Light In’ was produced and recorded by Andy Bell of Hudson Records at Real World Studios, which has been a recording home for top-notch artists like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and many others.

Pre-order for 'Spell Songs II: Let The Light In' is available, here: orcd.co/spellsongsii

Commissioned by the London-based Folk by the Oak Festival in late 2018, Spell Songs is made up of seven renowned folk musicians including 7x BBC Folk Awards winner Karine Polwart, multi-award winning Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis, Senegal-born multi-instrumentalist and African music innovator Seckou Keita, 4x BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner Kris Drever, Scots Trad Music Awards Musician of the Year Rachel Newton, genre-defying cellist Beth Porter, and BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist Jim Molyneux.

Each Spell Songs performance is accompanied by a live art performance from Morris, who has illustrated more than 40 books. Watch the mesmerizing performance, here: youtu.be/R-aseOUwk4s

Spell Songs has performed at iconic venues like the Natural History Museum and Royal Albert Hall; they have headlined the Hay International Literary Festival and much more. In 2022, the ensemble will embark on a concert hall tour across the UK. For more information, visit thelostwords.org/spell-songs.

’Spell Songs II: Let The Light In’ tracklist:

1. Bramble (Lead vocal: Karine Polwart)

2. St Kilda Wren (Lead vocal: Julie Fowlis)

3. Oak (Lead vocal: Kris Drever)

4. Swifts (Lead vocal: Rachel Newton)

5. Jay (Lead vocal: Seckou Keita)

6. Daisy (Lead vocal: Beth Porter)

7. Swallow (Lead vocal: Jim Molyneux)

8. Bird Of The Blizzard (Lead vocal: Julie Fowlis)

9. Thrift (Dig In, Dig In) (Lead vocal: Karine Polwart)

10. Gorse (Lead vocal: Beth Porter)

11. Red Is Your Art (Lead vocal: Kris Drever)