We recently shared the news of ‘The Fungi Sessions Vol. 1 ‘, a new concept album from Hannah Read featuring a collection of fungi-inspired instrumental compositions. As mentioned in that article, Hannah’s introduction to this world has a long history, thanks to her father. Professor Nick Read was a prominent Mycologist and pioneering fungal cell biologist whose world-leading research advanced our understanding of fungi…he was also a deep appreciator of music, and this album was written as a tribute to him.
Hannah has shared a video for Silverphae, the album’s first single, which you can watch below. It features a microscopic time-lapse video of Stinkhorn mycelium by scientist Dr. Patrick Hicke.
On the tack, Hannah (composer, fiddle, acoustic & electric guitars) is joined by Michael Starkey on clawhammer banjo & acoustic guitar, Jeff Picker on upright bass, and Edward Wallace on extra fiddle textures. Charles Van Kirk is credited for sound design, mixing & mastering, and Mattie Foulds as engineer.
Talking about the album, Hannah shared:
“…It has felt so special to dig deeper into his world and explore the marriage of mycology and music.
“I wrote the album over a week in May and recorded it at a studio in the Scottish Borders a few weeks later. I intentionally wrote the music over this short span of time, as I wanted to create something that felt organic and capture a freshness that often gets lost in the writing/recording process. I really love how this has all turned out and am so grateful to my fellow musicians who helped bring The Fungi Sessions Vol. 1 to life…”