Highlands-based songwriter Iona Lane recently announced her second full-length album, Swilkie, due for release on May 2nd. Her debut album, Halllival, was a masterful debut, and this follow-up looks set to follow in those footsteps as she turns to ecology, conservation, islands and folklore for inspiration.
Tomorrow, she is releasing her graceful new single Torus, inspired by humans’ changing historical relationship with basking sharks. The term ‘Torus’ is used to describe the mysterious circling that basking sharks sometimes do in groups, a three-dimensional ring structure that researchers have now discovered is a form of courtship. Professor David Sims, a Senior Research Fellow at the MBA and University of Southampton who was lead author of a study into this behaviour, said: “How usually solitary basking sharks find a mate in the ocean’s expanse has been an enduring mystery. Incredibly we now find that a courtship torus not only forms but acts like a slow motion ‘speed-dating’ event for assessing lots of potential mates in one go.” 1
Basking sharks are a Red List endangered species whose over-exploitation has disproportionately affected their numbers due to their long, average 50-year lifespan and the few young they produce. However, as Iona says below, they are making a recovery. It is the second largest shark, and these slow-moving creatures are filter feeders living on plankton. As an aside, they are called liamhán gréine in Ireland, which translates to “great fish of the sun”.
As this is being released on February 14th, it is a kind of Valentine’s song for these beautiful and mysterious creatures, and, as a nice touch, alongside the standard black vinyl, there will also be a Limited Edition vinyl ‘shark-colour’ release of Swilkie (details below).
Iona Shared:
This song is inspired by the history humans have had with basking sharks across the years. In a lot of folklore, you read about sea serpents who were feared by sailors. It’s thought that these sea serpents were actually basking sharks, floating at the surface feeding away – a massively understood animal at the time. So, the song starts with a sense of fear. Then we move to the 1900s when basking sharks were culled for the oil in their liver. Fisheries popped up all across the west coast, and the sharks were wiped to near extinction. Now, they have made a resurgence and they’re a treasured part of our ecosystem.
In the video, Iona is joined by Ben Nicholls on double bass, Louis Campbell on banjo, and Malin Lewis on fiddle. As with her debut, Iona takes significant time and effort to share and craft her songs, even the tempo and movement of this song lends itself to the movement of these slow graceful creatures.
Swilkie was written during three residencies on the Isle of Eigg, Isle of Mull and Sanday in Orkney; a sense of place and landscape are at the core of these songs. From basking sharks to lighthouses, lichen to vanishing islands, curlews to shipwrecks, the album was recorded in a boathouse on the West Coast of Scotland, and the eager listener may even hear the lapping sound of the tide murmuring through the album. Iona’s connection to places by the sea is translated through these songs with evolving vocal melodies, subtle guitar and droning shruti box.
Iona is joined by a wealth of musical talent, including Ben Nicholls on double bass; Louis Campbell on guitars/banjo; Malin Lewis on fiddle/pipes; Signy Jakobsdottir on drums/percussion; Jen Austin on piano; Alex Lyon on bass clarinet/clarinet; and Jenny Sturgeon, Josie Duncan and Michael McGovern on backing vocals.
Swilkie features a second disc of location recordings exclusive to physical and Bandcamp. This disc was recorded by Iona using a single location recording microphone and provides an insight into the creative process and the places where the music takes inspiration from. These tracks also feature fellow musicians and friends (Hannah Fisher, Jen Austin, Terra Burgoyne, Lachie Robinson and Bess Shooter) along the way!
Iona is touring Swilkie extensively this year with 15 shows across The Netherlands/Germany/Denmark and 30+ gigs across Scotland and England, including at Lakeside Arts (Nottingham), Brewery Arts (Kendal), Green Note (London), Tolbooth (Stirling), The Ceilidh Place (Ullapool).*
The album is available on Digital, Double CD, Double Vinyl (& Ltd Edition Shark), and a Limited edition book (with download) featuring film photos, song lyrics, musings and stories from the writing process.
Pre-Order Swilkie via Bandcamp: https://ionalane.bandcamp.com/album/swilkie
TOUR DATES*
SCOTLAND & ENGLAND
14/02/25 – Fort William Mountain Festival
15/02/25 – Kirkgate Arts, Cumbria
16/02/25 – Gathering South, Glasgow
11/04/25 – Wetherby Folk Club
12/04/25 – Cley and Salthouse Marshes, Norfolk
13/04/25 – Walthamstow Folk Club
EUROPE
25/04/25 – Café Kultus, Grevenbroich GERMANY
26/04/25 – Kulturmühle Buchhagen, Bodenwerder GERMANY
27/04/25 – Zur Reithalle, Neuwied GERMANY
29/04/25 – Cowhide House Concerts, Frankfurt GERMANY
03/05/25 – Fraugde Church, Odense DENMARK
04/05/25 – House Concert, Faaborg DENMARK
06/05/25 – Tonfink, Lübeck GERMANY
07/05/25 – Homeyers Hof, Garbsen GERMANY
08/05/25 – Dominikanerkloster Prenzlau, Prenzlau GERMANY
09/05/25 – Scala House Concerts, Chemnitz GERMANY
10/05/25 – Katharinenkirche, Oelsnitz/vogtl. GERMANY
13/05/25 – Folkclub Prisma, Pforzheim GERMANY
15/05/25 – Haus Eifgen, Wermelskirchen GERMANY
17/05/25 – Cultureel Trefpunt Voorne aan Zee, Hellevoetsluis NETHERLANDS
18/05/25 – Kleine Walhalla, Rotterdam NETHERLANDS
SCOTLAND & ENGLAND
29/05/25 – Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
31/05/25 – The Lost ARC, Rhayader
01/06/25 – Tree House Bookshop, Kenilworth
04/06/25 – Ashburton Arts Centre, South Devon
05/06/25 – The Acorn, Penzance
08/06/25 – Cafe #9, Sheffield
09/06/25 – Lightship, Blyth
10/06/25 – Alnwick Playhouse
11/06/25 – Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
12/06/25 – Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon
13/06/25 – Ilkley Manor House, Yorkshire
16/06/25 – Tonbridge Folk Club
17/06/25 – Colchester Folk Club
18/06/25 – Green Note, London
19/06/25 – Rosslyn Court, Margate
20/06/25 – Canopy Theatre, Beccles
21/06/25 – Deepdale Camping, Norfolk
24/06/25 – Hoy at Anchor Folk Club
25/06/25 – Redbourne Folk Club
26/06/25 – The Rankin Club, Leominster
27/06/25 – St Anne’s Church, Bewdley
28/06/25 – Violets Tea Room, Bridgnorth
30/06/25 – Lowther Pavilion, Lytham St. Annes
03/07/25 – Tolbooth, Stirling
05/07/25 – Knockvologan, Isle of Mull
06/07/25 – Resipole Studio, Acharacle
10/07/25 – TBA, Inverness
11/07/25 – The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool
18/07/25 – Knoydart Community Hall, Knoydart
- More to be announce
More: https://www.ionalane.com/