In September, we premiered Mercy Me, the title track of Elspeth Anne’s new album, which is available to pre-order now from Bandcamp and is set for release on 25th November. As I mentioned then, Folk Radio curated the Cellarful of Folkadelia stage at Sidmouth Folk Festival this year, and among those performing was Elspeth Anne. She has been writing and recording as an artist since 2005. In his review of the festival, David Weir says, “the drone of her shruti box and her raw, twisted take on traditional music making her an exciting outlier within the genre.”
Below, we have the pleasure of sharing the video for her new album single ‘Wet Peace’, which is available on streaming services today. The video is once again by the excellent Manchester-based KIDMILK.
Elspeth on the Song and Video
It explores a connection with nature, the land and our ancestors, written as I explored Ireland for the first time, trying to understand the land my grandmother came from. It’s an optimistic song about unexpectedly finding a place in the world.
The video is pieced together with handy cam footage from a holiday in Cornwall. The fact it wasn’t intended as a music video has resulted in a candid and intimate visual that perfectly suits the tone of the song.
Elspeth Anne on the Album
“I started gathering songs and writing new material over the lockdowns in 2020; the pause in ‘normality’ gave me space to process the past. During this period, I had recurring dreams and nightmares that pointed me towards the subject matter of the songs. The album is a journey in realising personal truth and power through exploring concepts such as queerness, connection with nature, healing, patriarchal and heteronormative structures, forgiveness and revenge, blame and consequence.
“Sonically the work was influenced by a mixture of country music, contemporary trad folk and indie singer-songwriters. Taking inspiration from artists such as Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams, Lankum, George Cessna, and experimental composer & accordionist Pauline Oliveros.
“The album was recorded and mixed in rural Cornwall at Blue Satsuma studios by Alfie and Joseph Gidley, with Alfie acting as a multi-instrumentalist session musician and Joseph adding modular synth and field recording texture to the tracks. Between the three of us we built the sound for the record by contrasting acoustic instruments such as classical guitar, violin, banjo, piano, shruti box and accordion against experimental drones, synth layers and electric guitar.”
Pre-Order Mercy Me – https://elspethanne.bandcamp.com/