Alex Gallacher

Alongside a special performance by Lou Rogai (Lewis & Clarke) enjoy our Monday Morning Brew playlist, featuring Roufaida, Keith Jarrett, Juni Habel, Don Severance, DUG, The Fishermen Three, Bonnie Prince Billy, Lewsberg, Chantal Acda, Dani Larkin, Joan Shelley, Big Thied, Pina Palau, Sam Gendel, Julie Doiron and Msafiri Zawose.

Global-folk band Mishra and award-winning Indian classical/Sufi vocalist Deepa Shakthi have unveiled the video for their second single, “Akhiyaan Udeek Diyaan,” a fresh interpretation of a song by the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, widely regarded as the greatest and most influential qawwal of modern times. The single is set for release on September 26th ahead of their debut collaborative album, Turn O Spinning Wheel, due out next month.

Just ahead of their UK tour, Modern Nature shares “Take Our Chances,” a new short film documenting the making of their acclaimed album, The Heat Warps. The film offers a rare, intimate look at the band’s creative process, capturing the human element behind their sound.

Norwegian guitarist and composer Trond Kallevåg has unveiled the first single from his upcoming album Minnesota, a poignant piece titled “Twins of Træna.” The single, an instrumental narrative driven by Kallevåg’s signature dreamy pedal steel guitar, draws inspiration from a collection of historical black-and-white photographs discovered during an artist residency on the remote island of Træna.

Icelandic singer-songwriter Arny Margret has announced an expanded version of her latest album. ‘I Miss You, I Do: The Sjáumst Edition’ will be released on November 21st via One Little Independent Records. It includes three piano-led reinterpretations and a new instrumental composition, ‘Sjáumst,’ a wordless journey that serves as a gentle farewell to this creative chapter. Watch a live video for ‘Born in Spring,’ filmed at Iceland’s Salurinn concert hall.

Midlake have released “Days Gone By,” a new single from their upcoming album ‘A Bridge To Far’, out November 7th. The track is accompanied by a spellbinding video starring Emmy-nominated actor James Lance (Ted Lasso). The band also announced a UK and European tour for 2026. This release follows the lead single “The Ghouls,” building anticipation for their sixth studio album.

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, two celebrated ambient composers and friends, have unveiled their first official collaboration, “Perpetual Adoration.” The new single blends historical harps, celestial synths, and Barwick’s ethereal voice into a beautiful, immersive soundscape. Watch a live video of the performance, directed and edited by Joel Kazuo Knoernschild and filmed at Lou Lou’s Jungle Room at the Lafayette Hotel in San Diego.

Kentucky-based singer-songwriter Joan Shelley shares her gentle yet profound new single and video, “Here In The High and Low,” a beautiful prelude to her seventh album, Real Warmth, out this Friday. The track is a masterful collaboration with producer Ben Whitely and features backing vocals from Shelley’s three-year-old daughter. The video, directed by Cyrus Moussavi and Brittany Nugent, explores growth and time through the eyes of a young seedling.

claire rousay shares her latest single, “somewhat burdensome”, a masterclass in textural sound design, weaving together shimmering piano and guitar melodies with ambient drones and intimate field recordings. Watch the accompanying visual piece she constructed that mirrors the album’s focus on recordings captured at dusk.

Following the release of “Remembered in Exile,” a collection of newly crafted arrangements of traditional Scottish songs pulled from the pioneering work of folklorist Helen Creighton (1899-1989), Màiri Morrison, Alasdair Roberts and Pete Johnston have announced a UK tour in October. To celebrate, watch an all-new acoustic version of “The Bonny House of Airlie”.

Our latest weekly brew playlist features Mishra & Deepa Nair Rasiya, Sourdurent, Francis Bebey, Michael Hurley, Natalie Wildgoose, Mari Kalkun, Peter Bellamy, Martin Carthy, Broadside Hacks, Red River Dialect, Joan Shelley, Spencer Cullum, Flora Hibberd, Lael Neale, Natalie Jane Hill, Niamh Regan, Andrew Tuttle, William Ryan Fritch and James Jackson Toth.

We rewind to January 2013 and a special Simple Folk Radio show that was hosted by James Yorkston. The show was recorded in his home on the east coast of Scotland, from where he shared some of his favourite folk tunes. These included tracks from Rita Farrell, Willie Clancy, Mick O’Brien and Caoimhín O’Raghallaigh, HMS Ginafore, Nic Jones, Anne Briggs, Jean Ritchie, Dick Gaughan, Bess Cronin, Elle Osborne and more.