The British-Australian musician Hana Stretton centers her craft on ambient folk, weaving together samples, field recordings, and new material into tender, blurred swirls of feeling. Her work has drawn affectionate parallels to innovators such as Grouper and Claire Rousay, and she has found a stalwart advocate in Phil Elverum, who reissued her 2023 album Soon on his label P.W. Elverum & Suns. Last month, Stretton disclosed her upcoming LP, tiarn, unveiling two striking new tracks. Today we premiere two more.
The opening piece, “Seagull Theory II,” seems crafted for imaginary line dancers, with percussion that tracks their movements. Stretton explains:
When I went to record “Seagull Theory II,” I didn’t have the performers I hoped to work with. So I brought a wooden plank from the garage and five different pairs of shoes into my bedroom to try to mimic the sound of a crowd moving together. – but a moment arrived when I realized I needed real people to finish it… I began cautiously stepping out into the world. It quickly unraveled into something bigger, and now the track contains more than fifty voices. I was, perhaps unconsciously, trying to remind myself of the beauty and abundance that open up if I simply take a few steps in the right direction.
Stretton’s other new track, “As It Was Before This,” unfolds as a textured, luminous cloud of beauty. Both songs come highly recommended, so listen below.
tiarn is due out 8/7 as a self-release with assistance from Lima Limo, P.W. Elverum & Suns, Impartmaint, and Brierfield Flood Rress. Pre-order it here.
