ANNA LING
Light
According to the information received, Anna Ling is a Devon based singer, composer and choir director, recording neo-choral mythopoetic alt-folk from a yoghurt near her Devon base. It was very much a case of wondering exactly what all that meant, so it was therefore a delight to discover that her debut album is both adventurous and imaginative, pushing boundaries and delivering a mesmerising, sometimes hypnotic, developing soundscape. In terms of categorisation, it’s more a soundtrack to greet the sunrise from a festival field album than a folk-club singalong – but the world is a better place for the diversity and interest that albums like this offer.
The title of her album hints at the feature throughout and the images it can conjure. Like Joni Mitchell‘s ‘Blue’, ‘Light’ also gets included in the lyrics across the tracks, featuring in all but one of the songs.
With such sonic ambitions it is no surprise firstly that she has assembled a notable range of instrumentation and their players but also that she has already peeped the interest of media beyond the Folk world such as radio three and jazz FM.
Thoroughly absorbing as a listen, it’s a pity that she was unable to share the lyrics as part of the stylish package. Receiving them electronically revealed them to be as intriguing as the music that is wrapped around them, reflections on possibilities and imaginings than people and events, other than ‘Sun To The Bird’ which, despite the fanciful title, is rooted in the experience of a hospital and the anxious wait for news and a diagnosis, before flying as free as many of the others. However, maybe that’s for next time, which apparently will be a collection of music reflecting the perspective of birds. We look forward to sharing the Folk North West view on that as well.
File under well worth exploring and experiencing, lie back and surround yourself, you will feel better for it!
