Helen Gregory

Da Fishing Hands is a resounding creative success on a number of levels. Inge Thomson and her collaborators have painted a vivid picture of a changed and changing community. It’s as much an important historical document as it is a powerful artistic statement and, above all, a mesmerisingly beautiful record with top class musicians including Sarah Hayes, Fraser Fifield, Steven Polwart and Graeme Smillie.

Sarah McQuaid has clearly held true to her own musical vision and it’s to be hoped that Walking Into White is the album which will bring her the wider commercial success she so richly deserves. Don’t miss her UK & European tour which is currently underway.

Old England Grown New has a quiet confidence and a strong sense of self-worth which, at a time when political and moral bankruptcy are the order of the day for our kleptocratic rulers, sets it apart from the herd. Gregg Cave provides his vision of 21st century Britain viewed through the lens of our collective history – a striking and memorable debut album.

Kristin McClement has created a debut album of gravitas and maturity which should secure her reputation as a songwriter and musician of depth and character.

Energetic and joyous, tranquil and reflective, ‘Music in Exile’ looks set to be one of the most well-balanced and optimistic records you’re likely to hear this year.

Arooj Aftab’s debut album ‘Bird Under Water’ is a transcendent and an essential listen, this is indeed the sound of the oneness of being.

Gill Sandell and Chris T-T produce an idiosyncratic and iconoclastic celebration of some overlooked musical treasures from the last fifty years with covers of Willie Nelson, Kaiser Chiefs, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and more.

The Glue Ensemble who hail from London / Paris offer an album which is simultaneously bleak yet optimistic, intricate but accessible and altogether a hugely enjoyable listen.

Hailing from Bristol, The Honeyfire have produced a deceptively low-key yet passionate album whose hidden depths repay careful listening.

Irmin Schmidt, a founder of seminal 1970s German experimental band Can – is awarded French Knighthood. We pay tribute to the band’s guitarist, Michael Karoli who would have been 67 this year.

Laura Smyth and Ted Kemp are part of that rare but thriving band of musicians who are influenced by traditional material while developing their own distinct style.

On Your Own Love Again is Jessica Pratt’s follow-up to her self-titled debut. It’s an album that further ratifies her skill as a songwriter and her uniqueness in delivery of those songs.