Orkney: Symphony Of The Magnetic North

Orkney: Symphony Of The Magnetic North is the debut album from Hannah Peel, former Verve/The Good, the Bad & The Queen man Simon Tong and trail-blazing, über talented musician Erland Cooper. It’s an absorbing and at times spell-binding effort that marries post-modern soundscapes with stunning, folk-tinged melodies. Inspired by a dream that Cooper had about being visited by Betty Corrigal – an 18th century Orcadian who was driven to suicide after she was cast out from her community for becoming pregnant out of wedlock – the record features some truly stunning vocal interplay (‘Bay Of Skaill,’ ‘Orphir’). The band also strike a nice balance between sweeping, orchestral numbers (‘Old Man Of Hoy’) and more modern, buzzing, electro-based experiments (‘Ward Hill’). Arcade Fire fans will lap this up.