To master one instrument is an accomplishment, but to master many, with a debilitating and chronic condition is the measure of Tamsin Elliott. 'Frey' is the debut album from the Bristol-based folk musician, composer and film-maker (also co-leader of fusion project Solana).
It is a rhythmic, sensitive, emotional mix reflecting the roller coaster of emotions of a turbulent time, translated into her own special blend of folk. It’s really quite unique. Opening with the tender ‘Uma’s Song’, a slow builder before ‘Old Wax Jacket//A Coast of Sawdust’ (think about that wonderful image – a coat of sawdust) before changing moods again to Lullaby.
Featuring Tamsin on piano, accordion, lever harp, whistle, effects and synth – plus her atmospheric and ethereal voice, one special feature of this album is the original field recordings, that bring a further atmospheric, maybe even eerie thread to the fabric.
Tamsin explains that she wrote the music for the album as a balm for herself in the aftermath of a few years with severe health issues. ‘Frey’ is the name of the surgery she was waiting for when the pandemic hit. Remaining on an NHS waiting list, she had quality time for reflection – and the slower pace of life afforded optimum opportunity to explore her musical arts.
‘Frey’ also calls to mind the Norse goddess Freya, and the ancient connotations, with the drums and effects unearths multi-layered, mystical and mythical echoes.
The fourteen tracks explore themes of limbo, pain, healing and acceptance – in effect, it’s a microcosm of her personal experiences alongside wider themes of societal disconnection and environmental destruction. It’s a little like a sonic comfort blanket. These are the sounds, she says she needed to hear – a sound blanket in which to wrap herself on difficult days.
Although steeped in traditional folk traditional sounds, there’s this magnetic fusion with other cultures. It has its own enchanting magic with all the mysteries of the Middle East merged in for good measure.
A lament is a lament in any musical language – and the beauty of ‘Lament’ is worth noting, as is ‘The Loss Endured I’ and ‘The Loss Endured II’, spine tingling, before moving onwards and upwards with the joy of the ‘Emerging // Full Squirrel’.
Nature is a theme – life’s circular motion is the reel that sets this in motion – stepping up to the mark, then soothing us back under that sonic comfort blanket.
‘I Dreamed I was an Eagle’, ‘Light as Bone’, ‘Cold Moon’ – all beautiful and enigmatic.
Fourteen tracks to explore in a thoughtful, memorable and engaging album.
‘Frey’ was made with the support of Sound and Music’s New Voices programme, the Oppenheim-John Downes Memorial Trust and the PRS ‘Women Make Music’ programme. Without these fantastic support and development programmes, such talent may need see the light of day.