Bev Lee Harling – Ploughing The Salt Sea (2025) Hi-Res

Bev Lee Harling returns with her most personal and ambitious project yet: Ploughing The Salt Sea, a self-released album arriving June 20, 2025. Weaving haunting melodies with real family histories, this unique musical offering taken from her sellout one woman show, explores hidden pasts, lost voices, and the enduring pull of place and heritage.
Rooted in her home town of Hastings, Harling’s new album tells stories unearthed from her maternal family line—many of which had long been buried. After the passing of her mum, who had been adopted and remained secretive about her past, Bev began a journey of discovery. Through conversations with her dying father, family tree research and local interviews, she uncovered tales of sea-faring ancestors, hard-working women, scandal, and a whole lot of heart.
“After she died, I was left with holes in my understanding of who I am and where I belong, Ploughing The Salt Sea is a way of stitching those pieces back together.”
The album is co-produced by Bev Lee Harling and Frank Moon, featuring evocative field recordings from Rock-a-Nore beach and voices gathered through interviews in Hastings Old Town. Listeners will hear of a murderous pub landlady, a great uncle lost at sea, a roguish grandfather, and the quiet tragedy of her mother’s decline—real and imagined memories that give life to an album steeped in vulnerability and strength.
No Singles. No Vinyl. No CDs. Just Postcards.
In a bold and beautiful twist on traditional music distribution, Ploughing The Salt Sea will be released exclusively as a musical seaside postcard. In collaboration with local postcard makers Judges of Hastings, the album will be delivered as a set of specially designed postcards featuring vintage images from Hastings Old Town. One of these postcards includes a unique code to access the album digitally.
“It’s a physical keepsake and a musical offering—a nod to the past and a step into the future.”