As it says in their notes to their new single ‘Flint Knapped‘, it’s hard to get much farther apart than where M G Boulter and Jenny Sturgeon live, although one thing that does unite these two, beyond their shared Hudson Records label, is their poetic sense of lyricism.
Not only does distance separate them, but the landscape that inspires them is also worlds apart, although both are excellent observers. Hailing from Southend-on-Sea, M G Boulter released his critically acclaimed Clifftown album last year, in which he captured the poetry of everyday life in a muted, fading seaside town. More recently, he released ‘A Shadow Falls Over New Brighton’, an EP that delves further into coastal suburbia and vignettes of ordinary life.
In contrast, Jenny Sturgeon’s Shetland life couldn’t be further removed from that of the urban Thames estuary. The Cairngorms and the writings of Nan Shepherd inspired her last album, The Living Mountain, one we described as “a work of rare beauty.”
They began writing songs online in early 2022, and Flint Knapped is the first song they’ve written together and their first release.
The song was inspired by dusty keepsakes pocketed on walks, left on bookshelves as memories and the science of soundwaves, deep space and time, ‘Flint Knapped’ combines their love of history, nature and staring at the night sky.
Featuring M G on vocals, guitar and lap steel and Jenny on vocals and keys, it was mixed by Hudson Record’s very own Andy Bell.
All that is great about these two amalgamates perfectly here; like those pocketed keepsakes, this is one to treasure.
climb climb climb the hill side
who knows what you will find?
white noise, flint knapped,
a keepsake for my time
collecting dust between book spines
do you follow the moon,
like you follow the sun?
do you follow the moon?
infinite wavelengths gathering in space
who knows what sound they make
every word ever spoken, they never die
whispered from lips
reverberating in time
climb climb climb the hill side
careful steps at midnight
holding vespas in the light
of a million years
in secret conversations with the stars
Order via Bandcamp: https://jennysturgeon.bandcamp.com/track/flint-knapped
Flint Knapped is also available to stream and can be heard on our Mellow Folk playlist on Spotify, which is also available on Apple Music.