Hedera is a new Bristol-based quintet of instrumentalists brought together by a desire to lean into the slower and more delicate side of our European folk traditions. Their growing repertoire draws on French, English, Eastern European and Scandinavian music, with playful and inventive arrangements that reflect the diverse experience brought by members of the band: violinists Maisie Brett and Lulu Ruby Rose, clarinettist Isis Wolf-Light, Bethany M. Roberts on double bass, and Tamsin Elliott on accordion and harp. Intrigued by the combination of strings and reeds that seems to lend itself to effortless arranging, they have also now begun to create original music together.
Their first video release, ‘Waterwheel’, is composed by Tamsin Elliott and arranged by the band. Tamsin explains: “I wrote ‘Waterwheel’ at Crean Folk Camp in Cornwall, contemplating a mossy stone water mill, and how it reflected our relationship to time. It draws on my love of both minimalism and traditional music, with a nod to the Breton “Dañs à Laride”. It also shares a name with “Escalay (The Water Wheel)” by Egyptian Nubian composer Hamza El Din, one of my heroes.” Elegantly filmed on location by Elly Lucas in a dramatic Perthshire arboretum, the dynamic piece is constructed of several melodic fragments which shift unpredictably around each other. From its unassuming pizzicato opening, momentum builds as the various layers interlock and diverge until it decays again to nothing but birdsong in the pines and the low murmur of a forest river.
The project began life as a group of friends playing folk tunes around winter bonfires every full moon, grateful to have a collective musical outlet while their regular projects (Solana, Opa Rosa, Hands of the Heron) were unable to perform due to the pandemic. They discovered a shared love of listening deeply, playing slowly, and finding new ways to support each other musically. Over time, the ensemble has evolved into something more structured but still retains the intimacy and gentle conviviality of its beginnings. Their debut performance took place at Fire in the Mountain festival in June 2022, and they will play live in their hometown for the first time on 2 December at The Greenbank, with support from Sheffield’s Lucy & Hazel. The woman-led ‘Moon Jams’ have continued and expanded, becoming a rich resource for learning and teaching tunes across a number of traditions.
Find out more here: https://cuculirecords.com/artists/hedera/
Audio production by Bethany M. Roberts
Additional audio production by Tamsin Elliott
Mastered by Theo Passingham
Filmed by Elly Lucas
Video production by Tamsin Elliott