Tamsin Elliott - FREY (2022)

There is a point where music must be heard rather than talked about; words can only do so much, and when it comes to Frey by Tamsin Elliott, words begin to fail. A Bristol-based musician, she is also an explorer of styles and themes that come from a variety of cultures and musical forms. Her music is a rich tapestry serving to illustrate how much she understands the connections between cultures.

With the band Solana, she plays a folk-jazz fusion that’s heavier on the jazz end of the scale, yet Frey is a very different project. While it is clearly in the folk universe, there are points throughout where cultures come together in unexpectedly poignant ways. “Uma’s Song” opens with Elliott on accordion, while Sid Goldsmith’s cittern provides cross-cultural sounds to a wistful number featuring the work of Rowan Rheingans on violin. Longing and sadness join forces, yet there are still moments of hope.

Throughout 14 tracks, Elliott explores various themes, including several songs dealing with her own personal odyssey, exploring her own chronic illness while witnessing the societal disconnection brought on by the horrors of Covid. Her lever harp playing provides a quiet power to “Lullaby.” Never florid, she plays with a precise sense of what the song needs. While a tad on the dark side, the beauty shines through fed wordless vocals. It is a moment rich with subtle shading that makes this a “Lullaby” worth hearing over and over again.

Written at the same time, “I Dreamed I Was An Eagle” takes flight with more harp and the viola of her brother, Rowan. Feeling the eagle soaring on waves of sound, experiencing the updrafts before landing and hearing the sounds of other eagles in the nest, it is transcendent in its ability to engage the listener. Working off of a Low D whistle, “Light As Bone” offers an air of graceful beauty more traditional in nature.

Two versions of “The Loss Endured” present different views of what would appear to be the same moment. Both versions seem to intersect with the eastern world, not so much through the instrumentation in the first version, where the flute seems to take on eastern tones in places, while the second version seems rooted in Ricardo de Noronha’s percussion, yet the flutes also seem to blend on taking a note of eastern sensibilities.

A sense of playfulness seems to inhabit the waltzes of “Emerging//Full Squirrel,” where instead of colliding, east and west seem to intersect, showing the essential blending of cultures isn’t always a bad thing. Instead, it appears to offer hope. “Full Squirrel” seems a joyous celebration, almost Irish, yet there is something about it that still seems to bring a vaguely eastern feel to the party, squirrely as that may sound.

Contemplative, “Cygnus” gracefully suggests cross-cultural collaboration is at the heart of where we are as a people. Similarities outweigh differences. Frey clearly takes a journey that transcends particular locations and cultures. Tamsin Elliott has created a piece of work that will be talked about for years to come.