Poppy Ackroyd has been a favourite of ours for a long time, first conquering our ears with her 2012 wonderful debut album Escapement and the beguiling Feathers which was one of our 15 Album Picks of 2014. Earlier this summer, the marvellous multi-instrumentalist and composer announced a brand new album. Preceding the record, and serving as an enticing introduction to her music, Poppy released Sketches, a stunning mini-album featuring solo piano arrangements of some of her favourite tracks from previous records as well as from four new tracks off the upcoming album. Entitled Resolve, and marking her first full-length album release on One Little Indian, the album will see the light of day in early 2018. “Resolve is about the determination to embrace the good things in life whilst dealing with unexpected and challenging difficulties”, explained Poppy. “Finding the light in the dark, facing sadness and loss head on, and developing a growing inner strength.”

Ahead of the album’s release, we can already hear the magnificent first single ‘The Calm Before’. Speaking about the track, Poppy said this:

“The Calm Before is almost entirely made up of clarinet sounds. The percussion was created using layers of clicking clarinet and bass clarinet keys, starting with a looped and chopped rhythm taken from an improvisation that appears throughout.”

Press play and let yourself get lost in the beauty and serenity of ‘The Calm Before’.