Kerry Devine - Away From Mountains (2018)

'A deeply atmospheric cut, echoes the soft darkness of Daughter.' DIY // Following spellbinding performances at Cambridge Folk Festival and Secret Garden Party last summer Kerry Devine announces the release of her debut album. 'Away From Mountains' is pressed on limited black vinyl (300 copies) & CD. Featuring the glorious artwork of Swedish artist Lovisa Axellie. The vinyl comes shrink wrapped, with white discobag inserted into a card sleeve. The sleeve features the singer's portrait on the reverse with an illustration of the English Fens (the inspiration for the album) - based on a photo of Devine's - on the front cover. Inside the sleeve is a two-sided insert/poster featuring a repeat of the cover art, but this time without text; and on the reverse lyrics + more photos, in a chequered layout. CD DigiPak features the same amazing artwork with an insert / concertina style fold-out of the images and lyrics. Away From Mountains is profoundly inspired by the Fenland landscape and the stillness and history that inhabit the ancient and wild fens in the East of England. As Devine expands: 'When you're there and you're still you can hear so many different sounds, so many different layers, so I wanted to create something that sounded like that, that had the depth and the richness but also very sparse. This place comforts me, I wanted to create a kind of sound womb that the listener could come into and be comforted too.' Recorded live in the stillness of night in an empty Northamptonshire church the album exudes a haunting quality. Inspired by artists such as John Martyn, Devine's ethereal vocal which has raised comparisons to Beth Orton is used as an instrument, interweaved with simmering strings and acoustic guitar. A self-proclaimed audiophile Away From Mountains also includes samples of nature and sounds of human existence such as trains pulling up and old barrels being played as drums.