JENNY STURGEON
with Alice Allen & Grant Anderson
WINTERGREEN
EP - CD/DL
03.11.2023
"One might argue it's only when moulded in the hands of artists like Jenny Sturgeon that powerful messages of the wilderness have the potential to move all our lives in a green direction."
Irish Music Magazine
"A bewitching work of wisdom and light"
From the Margins
Wintergreen is the latest EP from Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Jenny Sturgeon, she’s joined on the record by Alice Allen and Grant Anderson.
Lines taken from Isobel Wylie Hutchison’s poem ‘Song for Pyrola uniflora’, adapted by Sturgeon for the title track on the EP, perfectly encompass the nature of the music:
“How rich this hour that has so quietly brought
Such masterpiece my way.”
Sturgeon, who has a PhD in seabird ecology, is no stranger to analysing the world around her. Taking careful inspiration from the vastness and beauty of nature through song, Sturgeon’s musical roots continue to expand and thrive in showcasing her unrivalled ability to capture the complexities of the environment around her.
Wintergreen was recorded in Shetland, a cluster of islands in the North Sea, along with musicians Alice Allen and Grant Anderson. Meandering subtly throughout the whole project is a nuanced and continuous field recording from Shetland, ensuring that the sights and sounds of this archipelago are able to find a unique home in the ears of each listener who explores the EP.
“It's been really special for me to make this EP at home, in Shetland”, explains Sturgeon. “Alice, Grant, Andy and I had a brilliant day in Mareel Recording Studio making Wintergreen. The record is named for One-flowered Wintergreen - a rare plant which grows in the Cairngorms National Park.”
Expanding further on Wintergreen, Sturgeon continues, “The EP features a series of collaborations; songs written with friends Alice Allen, Grant Anderson and Lynn McFarland as well as an adaptation of a poem by botanist and explorer Isobel Wylie Hutchison and a reworking of 'Frost and Snow' from my 2020 album The Living Mountain. Songs about love, escapism, constellations and standing up for yourself.”
Deep, sonic landscapes and ethereal dreamscapes crafted by Sturgeon throughout the Wintergreen EP allow for a hypnotic ‘ebb and flow’ of a journey. Each of the six tracks offer something dynamically distinct, whether it be in choice of instrumentation or lyricism. What unequivocally joins them together is Sturgeon’s strength to create an intimate and concentrated musical shared space which is without geographical borders.
Also released on 03.11.2023 is a limited edition mauve repressing of Sturgeon’s 2020 album, The Living Mountain. Inspired by the trailblazing nature writer Nan Shepherd’s book with the same name, this was Sturgeon’s resolute love letter to the Cairngorms. Coined by folking.com as an, “exquisite, spellbinding, life-affirming and totally immersive experience”, The Living Mountain certainly remains a, “bewitching work of wisdom and light” (From the Margins) which ought not to be missed.
A huge thank you to the support from Shetland Arts Performing Arts Commission.
LISTEN & PRE-ORDER - https://hudsonrecords.ffm.to/wintergreen
WAVS & PACKSHOT -https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o5pqcd3hrf10rxo/AADtXnnHCGUmLiBJrJHqELdka?dl=0
Label, Artist, Press & RadioEnquiries
Helen Bell - helen@hudsonrecords.co.uk or +44 (0)7748800661
