Cut and Run is a new collaboration from cellist Allice Allen and singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon. A song about imagined underwater escapism of slipping into a selkie skin, about a love that's run its course, and having the conviction to call out gaslighting.

Jenny Sturgeon is a singer-songwriter "who brings together the old and new with a rare skill" (R2 Magazine).

Sturgeon’s songcraft is at the centre of her engaging and honest performance, with accompaniment on guitar, harmonium and piano she has been described as “a wonderful singer who can change the atmosphere in the room with her affecting delivery” (Boo Hewerdine). Her album 'The Living Mountain' was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year awards 2021 and in 2020 she won Best Acoustic at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards. In 2018 she was nominated as Composer Of The Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards.

Other Musical collaborations include writing and performing in the critically acclaimed alt-folk band Salt House and in the bird and migration inspired project, Northern Flyway; a Creative Scotland and PRS Foundation funded audio-visual project that Jenny co-wrote with Inge Thomson - described as "like watching a David Attenborough documentary but with awesome music!”.

Alice Allen grew up in Banchory, Aberdeenshire and is now based in rural Stirlingshire. She was formerly young artist with the Scottish Ensemble and has performed live on BBC Radio 3 and Radio Scotland. Alice has recorded with many leading folk artists including former BBC young traditional musician of the year Robyn Stapleton. Her playing has taken her to the BBC Proms, the Wigmore Hall, Europe and India and she has worked with many of the country’s leading performing groups including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Concerto Calendonia, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Concertante and the Brodick Quartet. Studying with Hannah Roberts (a huge inspiration on Alice's own playing), she graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a first class honours degree (https://www.rncm.ac.uk/alumni-home/meet-our-alumni/strings-alumni/), and holds a Masters in Music with Distinction from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Alice performs regularly with fiddler Alastair Savage and was Chamber Music Scotland's Ensemble in Residence 2019-2. She is co-founder of the Scottish Freelancers Ensemble with GAIA partner Katrina Lee, and member of folk group LYRE LYRE, with Marit Falt and Patsy Reid. Alice is part of Seonaid Aitken's six piece ensemble and performs in a duo with guitarist Jenn Butterworth.

Lyrics

Feel the tide pull on your strings

Sand beneath your seal skin

If it was up to me we'd stay like this

If it was

With the dawn another day

We seek for love to make us stay

We believe what we want to anyway

We believe

Cut and run, run and hide

True to you, free to decide

Which way is up which way is down

When down is up and up is down

Depending on your point of view

First to see, call it out

First to hear, call it what it is.

Which right is wrong, which wrong is right?

When wrong is wrong and right is...