Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres - Play Echoes (2022) [Hi-Res]

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres' striking new album ‘Play Echoes‘ is a collaboration with Her Ensemble, the UK's first women and non-binary orchestra formed during the pandemic. ‘Play Echoes‘ is a profoundly meditative, beguiling collection combining classical instrumentation with electronic and electro-mechanical elements.

The record, consisting of twelve songs, has its origins in an intimate recording of a conversation between a three-year-old Hamilton-Ayres and her mother, parts of which appear in the innocently optimistic opener, ‘Olympia‘. From the vibrant, piano-led chamber music of ‘London '92‘ and the more extravagantly romantic ‘Stone Stairs‘ to ‘Grenadine's‘ and ‘Unbound's‘ rippling synths, the record summons an air of nostalgia both bitter-sweet and immersive. Confirming her as one of the most emotionally articulate and compelling composers of her era, ‘Play Echoes‘ represents childhood dreams come true and adult reflections made real.