Far Flung Collective - To a Sea Cliff (2024)

Far Flung Collective return with long-awaited third album, 'To A Sea Cliff' (Far Flung Records FFC003), on 23 February 2024. An intriguing mix of musical styles and influences, the album contains 14 brand new tracks penned by various members of the band.

Bringing together a diverse bunch of acclaimed and emerging musicians from distant corners of the British Isles, Far Flung Collective was originally formed in 2015 as part of a collaborative music education project between English SoundStorm Music Education Agency and the Scottish University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), exploring longstanding British cultural diversity and common environmental challenges.

'To A Sea Cliff' sees longstanding core quartet of acclaimed folk troubador Alex Roberts (vocals / guitar), trad fiddler/composer Anna-Wendy Stevenson (fiddle/whistle), multi-instrumentalist/jazzer Dan Somogyi (piano/guitar/bass/others) and rising vocal star Mabel Duncan (vocals/guitar/fiddle) joined by 17 additional players and narrators across the fourteen tracks.

The album was born in extraordinary circumstances. Originally intended to follow the previous methodology of a short-burst creative residency, the onset of international covid lockdowns in 2020, and the prevention of in-person meetings, meant a completely new plan was needed. To A Sea Cliff was thus created almost entirely online, ideas batted back and forth between different band members over some two years.

The recording sees drums, samples and programming used by Far Flung Collective for the first time on some tracks, partly out of necessity to enable in-time recording to be achieved across the digital ether. “We liked what we heard and the diversity of musical styles that the extraordinary covid situation encouraged” says founder member Dan Somogyi. “Because we had more time, we were able to experiment more, too.” Indeed, rock, classical and jazz influences can be heard alongside the more trademark Far Flung folk sound. The result is certainly the most varied album the band has yet produced.

The album releases digitally on 23 February 2024 but you can buy advance copies of the physical CD now via the Merch link!

Musicians / narrators: Dan Somogyi, Alex Roberts, Anna-Wendy Stevenson, Simon Bradley, Mabel Duncan, Daniel Gaultier, Liam Sutherland, Paul Campbell, Eoghan McManus, Jamie Anderson, Sheena Peteranna, Emilia Marienfeld, Andy Worth, Naomi Harvey, Neil Evans, Tim Cotterell, Terry Quinney, Marit Schöpel, Tom Campbell, Jordan Neil, Joseph Peach

Tracklist:
1.01 - Far Flung Collective - Durdle Door (5:45)
1.02 - Far Flung Collective - To A Sea Cliff (2:11)
1.03 - Far Flung Collective - The Edge of Nowhere (5:24)
1.04 - Far Flung Collective - The Sea, The Sea (4:43)
1.05 - Far Flung Collective - Butterfly (5:59)
1.06 - Far Flung Collective - The Sussex Weald (2:25)
1.07 - Far Flung Collective - The Cliffs of Dorset (2:21)
1.08 - Far Flung Collective - Waves (4:02)
1.09 - Far Flung Collective - Taghadh Fiodh / The Lives of Three Wattles (2:50)
1.10 - Far Flung Collective - Nuala Iona's Jig / Trip to Loch Skipport (3:20)
1.11 - Far Flung Collective - Gracesayer (2:29)
1.12 - Far Flung Collective - Mark and Maria's Wedding / Tom's Waltz (5:46)
1.13 - Far Flung Collective - Glow (5:19)
1.14 - Far Flung Collective - Avian Migrations (Dub of the Little Tern) (9:39)