Marry Waterson & Adrian Crowley announce Cuckoo Storm

Marry Waterson and Adrian Crowley are to collaborate for the first time on ‘Cuckoo Storm’ (out March 8^th via One Little Independent Records), produced with Jim Barr (Portishead). It’s maybe Surprising that they’ve never crossed paths before when you consider their familiar musical circles. James Yorkston, a keen collaborator, has worked with both of them in the past but not together – Marry appeared as a guest on Yorkston’s ‘That Summer We Flew’, a 2020 digital album he released featuring demos, duets, covers and soundtrack work, and Crowley co-released “My Yoke Is Heavy: The Songs Of Daniel Johnston” with Yorkston in 2013 (a Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio and interviewed here).

Their music seems to share that same poetic depth and sense of otherworldliness, especially on Crowley’s The Watchful Eye of the Stars and Waterson’s last album with David A Jaycock – ‘Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love’. It was after hearing the latter album that Crowley reached out and sent a message via social media. Drawn to his voice and seeing a kindred spirit in his poetic lyrics, Waterson was touched by his message and responded by asking if he would be interested in working together. His answer was a resounding ‘yes.’

Initially, they began by building a collection of songs and from that, it became clear an album was in the offing, and the seeds of ‘Cuckoo Storm’ were sewn. Waterson and Crowley found their voices melded easily to form something rich and intimate. Their creative roles exchanged fluidly, whether lyric and/or melody-writer, enjoying the excitement of another colouring in their work: a delightful dopamine rush, which pushed each artist on to create something that couldn’t exist outside that particular partnership.

‘Cuckoo Storm’ opens with ‘Undear Sphere’, a song written by Waterson but which evolved in the studio when she, Crowley and Jim Barr (on double bass) played it for the first time. It was composed using the ‘blackout’ technique, as was ‘Distant Music’, written by Waterson when skimming the pages of a church jumble sale book (divine inspiration indeed!). Marry blacked out parts of the original text until only certain words or phrases remained, connecting motivational words to create an entirely new work. Crowley had been working independently on a melody that just happened to fit her creation: a happy accident.

You can hear the opening track and lead single ‘Undear Sphere‘ today, a number which demonstrates not just how well-matched Waterson’s distinctive vocals and Crowley’s rich baritone are but also how these poetic lyricists have found a vibrant common ground. Everything on this song clicks into place, and it’s their subtle power that makes this song so overwhelmingly beautiful.

The accompanying video was created by Waterson, also well-known for her visual artistry.