The folk custodian of the native song of the British Isles, leading voice in the environmental movement, and creator of the hugely successful and popular Singing with Nightingales, Sam Lee has become, over the course of four albums, a touchstone for the idea of the chronicler and artistic spokesperson of the natural world. It is a crown he wears easily, Lee’s commitment to both the indigenous song culture of the British Isles and its nature is heartfelt and deep rooted and his new album ‘songdreaming’ is an album infused with a love of the natural world and a fierce commitment to fight for its preservation.
For Sam, the connection to the natural world is also a connection to a better way of being and a desire to recreate an eden that is ever present in his work. For Sam, these reimagined and reworked songs are more than a history, they are a living, vibrant, vital connection to our very being.
‘songdreaming’ sees Sam continue the broadening of his musical vision that marked out predecessor ‘Old Wow’. Working with producer Bernard Butler, the album sees a recording debut for the London based trans+ Trans Voices choir on the gospel influenced lead single, ‘Meeting Is A Pleasant Place’, and a diverse instrumentation that incorporates prominent electric guitar, Arabic Qanun, Swedish Nyckelharpa, and the small pipes alongside his traditional backbone of double bass, percussion, and violin across its’ nine tracks.