Feather by Edgelarks: Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin

In the autumn of 2017, after many months of intense touring, we put out a call. We hadn't written any music, or practised, for far too long – did anyone have a place to which we could retreat, to work on new material?

Amidst many kind offers of help, our friend Jon introduced us to Paul and Jella, who offered us a week in a cottage deep in the west Cumbrian Lakes.

This album is the result. It was an incredible gift, to carve out time away from the world, and explore ideas long hoarded in notebooks. We stocked the fridge, banked the fire, and wrote.
We found that we were writing about hope. The troubled world didn't seem to need any more sad songs! We had been lucky enough to experience kindness, solace, rest and welcome, and these were now the things we wanted to sing about.

We returned home from Cumbria with a suitcase full of songs. Songs to sing against sadness, loneliness, and the erosions of time; songs of the hills, of wild rain and sunshine, of the circles of all things; songs for tired hearts, troubled minds, and soulsick wanderers. Songs of hope.

Inspired by the sound we were making in the cottage, we wanted to approach the recording differently to previous albums we've made. We decided to capture the live sound of the duo, keeping to two instruments, two vocals, with the occasional addition of foot percussion, foot pedalled shruti, and harmonica on a neck brace.

We hope that you enjoy it.

Hannah and Phil x

Tracklist

1.	Feather	3:48

2.	Where I Stand	4:38

3.	Back From Hope	4:07

4.	Wanting Nothing	4:00

5.	What We Save From The Tide	5:03

6.	Oyster	5:56

7.	Time Away	3:40

8.	Growing	3:56

9.	Wander	5:06

10.	Spencer The Rover	6:02

11.	The Longest Day	4:45

Credits

released May 17, 2019

This album was written, in large part, in April 2018 at Woodend, Cumbria.

Recorded December 2018 - January 2019 by Mark Tucker at The Green Room, Devon

Produced by Mark Tucker with Phillip Henry.
All songs by Hannah Martin, except Wanting Nothing, Time Away, Wander, and The Longest Day, by Henry / Martin; and Spencer The Rover, trad. arr. Henry / Martin. Arrangements by Phillip Henry.

Photography by Jolyon Holroyd
Graphic design, artwork and cyanotyping by Sam Cooke
Original cyanotypes by Hannah Martin

With thanks to -
Mark, Jolyon and Sam for lending us your talents.
Jon, for finding the place, and Paul and Jella for making us so welcome - for your kindness, and for the inspiration. Very special thanks to all three of you xxx

Several books were of particular significance in the writing of these songs. I am thankful to Nick Groom's The Seasons, Kathleen Jamie's Findings, and Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark for all their wisdom.

This album could not have been made without the support of our amazing crowdfunder team. With enormous thanks to:

Executive Producers - Jane and John Walton, Neil and Lesley Sibson, Nigel and Maria Nash, and Ian Dutton and Bev Dean.

Crowdfunding supporters -
Adam Boys, Jonathan Havenhand, Colin and Suzanne Doak, Richard Ellis, Drew Wegg and Maggie Kenny, Kate Harris and Cliffy Butler, Jan Howe, Gabrielle and Steve Fairgrieve, Mark Ginns, Joseph Zielinski, Suzanne Proctor, Henrik Widell

And everyone that contributed to our crowdfunding campaign, THANK YOU XXX

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