A1 	Aliquot 	
A2 	Rain 	
A3 	Seven 	
B1 	Glass Sea 	
B2 	Lyre 	
B3 	Grounds 	
B4 	Mechanism

Poppy Ackroyd – performer, composer, producer

This album is absolutely beautiful, in a mysterious yet intimate way, with so much expression and tenderness. Love it! ---Martin Walker, poppy.bandcamp.com

The ethereal and contemplative debut from the Edinburgh based Poppy Ackroyd is now available from the ever reliable Denovali records.

Poppy Ackroyd has just released Escapement through Denovali Records, her debut album in which she examines the potential that lies beyond traditional structure and composition. Originating from London, Ackroyd is a classically trained musician who has worked extensively with the likes of Hidden Orchestra.

Her musical roots are evident on Escapement, which bears all the hallmarks of a wonderfully composed classical piece, however, what it manages to do is create an extension upon the grounds which a traditional composition is based. Approaching the instruments in novel and unique manners to achieve unrecognisable sounds, both intriguing and captivating, Ackroyd adds great depth and mystery to a solid and enticing framework.

Due to the experimental nature of the music contained on Escapement, Ackroyd felt that it was essential to the process to record and perform the music herself. From her home studio, she painstakingly constructed the album, using not only the instruments, but also sampling elements of nature through field recordings. Birdsong and rainfall are just two examples of the natural world samples which can be heard throughout.

‘Aliquot’ and ‘Seven’ are standout tracks which lie somewhere in the worlds between film score and contemporary instrumental, whereas ‘Grounds’ goes beyond that and escorts us to somewhere else altogether, somewhere unknown and magical. It comes as no surprise to learn that the performer has also had a great deal of experience in theatre and interpretative dance, as well as performance art, as fractions of these can all be felt on Escapement.

There is a joy and delicacy which permeate this release, one which commands not only initial attention, but which lingers and ferments long after its final chord, enticing and calling for a repeated listen. Escapement changes into many things as it shyly becomes more familiar; joyfully melancholic and fragile, yet with a strength that lifts it far beyond the watery inconsequentiality which can damage such light compositions. ---Colin McCracken, louderthanwar.com

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1 	Strata 	4:48
2 	Salt 	4:29
3 	Timeless 	5:50
4 	Feathers 	6:06
5 	Roads 	5:16
6 	Croft 	5:30
7 	Taskin 	3:16
8 	Birdwoman 	5:35

Poppy Ackroyd – piano
Su-a Lee – cello (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8)

When skill, ingenuity, and inspiration meet, magical things can happen; art can happen. Poppy Ackroyd’s dazzling new album Feathers is a case in point. Skill? The London-born, Brighton-based artist is classically trained and accomplished as both a composer and performer. Ingenuity? She has developed a unique compositional voice by combining conventional piano technique with unconventional use of the instrument beyond the keyboard itself to create a mesmerizing sound evidenced both in her work as a member of Hidden Orchestra and on her debut solo album Escapement released by the very same Denovali Records in 2012.

As for inspiration, Ackroyd drew upon sources both philosophical and musical. The title of the album was inspired by a line from the poetry of Emily Dickinson: “Hope is the thing with feathers”, invoking an image of birds in flight as a metaphor for “love, loss, hope, and migration”. But the word feathers also references the quill in the mechanisms of some of the instruments used to make the record, instruments which themselves became part of the inspiration to create and improvise:

“Poppy’s beloved, restored Blüthner grand piano in her studio is again the backbone of the album, providing most of the melodies, bass lines and percussive sounds. Other material originated from improvised recording sessions at the Russell/Mirrey Collection of keyboard instruments in Edinburgh. Having previously spent time there dismantling different pianos to understand how their mechanisms work and make sound, she was given complete freedom on her own in the museum to experiment with around fifty keyboard instruments from the 16th century to the 19th century. Selecting a few instruments for ‘Feathers’ that produced a variety of different timbres, it was again the other sounds these instruments could make that interested her, when treating them as sources for melodic or percussive material…There is an intimate feel to the recordings as these older instruments are not designed to project sound loudly, so the microphones were placed very close to capture the minutest detail.”

In addition to the keyboards, Feathers is graced with Poppy’s violin lines augmented by guest cellist Su-a Lee and congruent field recordings such as ticking clocks, rushing traffic, or pounding surf. The confluence of all of this skill, inspiration, and inventiveness is a magical record of effervescent beauty. High points for this reviewer are the percussive geometries of ‘Salt’, the musical chronometry of ‘Timeless’, and the melancholic closer, ‘Birdwoman’. Everything moves with elaborate precision like the inner workings of an elegant timepiece or a precious music box. And the title track is utterly stunning with its beautiful piano runs swirling around aching strings.

Feathers is exquisitely mastered as well for optimum clarity and dynamic range. It is simply a joy to listen to. A well known singer recently proclaimed that “music is art and art should be paid for”. While that is true, much of what is presented as music today falls short of those aspirations. Feathers does not. It is music that deserves to be heard and art that deserves to be supported. --- Brian Housman, reviews.headphonecommute.com

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1 	Paper (Max Cooper Remix)	6:21
2 	Light (Hauschka Remix)	4:48
3 	The Calm Before (Daisuke Tanabe Remix)	5:52
4 	Resolve (Floex Remix)	7:40
5 	Quail (Hidden Orchestra Remix)	5:41
6 	The Dream (Penelope Trappes Remix)	4:58
7 	Time (Lone Figures Remix)	5:14
8 	Luna (Ben Lukas Boysen Remix)	11:14
9 	Trains (Nuage Remix)	5:58

A year after ‘Resolve’ was released to critical acclaim, breath-taking post-classical artist Poppy Ackroyd releases ‘Resolve Reimagined’ with One Little Indian Records.

The pianist, violinist, producer, and composer has teamed up with a collection of friends and artistic peers, including Hauschka, Penelope Trappes, Max Cooper, Ben Lukas Boysen, Hidden Orchestra, Floex, Daisuke Tanabe and Nuage. As remix albums go, ‘Resolve Reimagined’ is in a total league of its own; each track embarks on its own journey between genres, embracing unmistakable sounds taken from the original pieces yet each one radiates the essence of the artist that remixed it.

The ground-breaking album explores life's constant challenges, and many of the songs are extremely personal to Poppy. In her own words: “Resolve is about the determination to embrace the good things in life whilst dealing with unexpected and challenging difficulties. Finding the light in the dark, facing sadness and loss head-on, and developing a growing inner strength.”

Although a keen collaborator outside of her solo work – having created soundtracks for film, dance, physical theatre and radio – Resolve is the first record for which Poppy employed other players, including Manu Delago (Bjork, Cinematic Orchestra, Anoushka Shankar) playing hang, Mike Lesirge (Bonobo, Andreya Triana) playing clarinets and flute, and Jo Quail on cello.

Ackroyd creates percussive textures from traditional classical instruments, and the result is almost the emulation of an entire orchestra, using very few instruments combined with the artist’s incredible production skills. The gifted artist works by recording improvised contemporary classical piano motifs and then rearranging and manipulating these sounds digitally. The result is a fantastic fusion of acoustic and electronic in a post-classical setting. ---poppy.bandcamp.com

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1 	Paper 	4:35
2 	Light 	5:21
3 	The Calm Before 	6:09
4 	Resolve 	4:16
5 	Quail 	4:55
6 	The Dream 	5:23
7 	Time 	6:10
8 	Luna 	4:41
9 	Stems 	1:34
10 	Trains 	4:36

Cello – Jo Quail
Flute, Clarinet – Mike Lesirge
Grand Piano, Violin, Harmonium, Spinet – Poppy Ackroyd 

When composer and multi-instrumentalist Poppy Ackroyd signed to Björk's One Little Indian in 2017, she offered a stopgap release called Sketches on which she re-recorded previously issued works as solo piano miniatures. Listening to Resolve, her first full-length for the label, it's obvious she's opened a new door. Resolve finds the idiosyncratic composer utilizing her long-developed method of delivering simple, almost minimalist melodies, now refracted through sounds by her accompanists and her own truly imaginative digital editing style. The latter may unsettle those who've placed Ackroyd's previous work in the stylized ghetto of "classical crossover" music. While she doesn’t actively rebel against that catch-all, she does push its boundaries toward an elusive musical terrain whose common signifiers are mystery and surprise. Each piece here is open-ended and could either be exponentially expanded or pared down to a skeletal essence. Which is not to say they aren't perfect just as they are.

Her editing skills and recontextualization of her playing -- whether on pianos (electric and acoustic), and/or violin and harmonium -- are not juxtapositions so much as recombinant methodologies. On opener "Paper," the piano's middle and high registers create a repetitive melody as staggered percussion from, one assumes, the instrument's pedals and wooden frame, is woven though lithe flute and layered cellos stretching a mutant 4/4 time signature to its limits. "Light" initially sounds like an homage to Michael Nyman's post-minimalist theme from The Piano, as swirling violins and cellos color the spaces behind an economical yet elegant piano line (played inside the instrument as well as on its keys) as percussive loops and beats -- all looped from wooden sources -- create movement and drama. While the title track employs a short repetitive piano line, hand percussion, flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet offer an impressionistic Debussy-ian layer, as a cello, both bowed and plucked, pulses toward a dynamic trio interaction that finds a crescendo's cliff edge but backs away. Two pieces, "The Dream" and "Stems," are performed solo on pianos and violins, but sound no less full -- especially because of their sometimes-jarring combinations of keys, droning violin, and plucked piano strings, all of which create their own elastic rhythmic statements that underscore a Hang (a hollow percussion instrument derived from the idiophone that looks like a UFO). Ackroyd overdubs "Time" in staggered cadences, as well as with shard-like atmospheric melodies she elucidates on the piano. The result is a theme-like work one cannot "unhear," even as it builds to a tense breaking point, then unravels itself by whispering to a close. Resolve is easily Ackroyd's most confident and mature statement. She remains devoted to lyric melody, but her re-combinations of sounds and textures inside these compositions are almost compulsively listenable, even as they move toward the undefined -- and untamed -- musical border she seeks. ---Thom Jurek, AllMusic Review

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1 	Resolve 	4:36
2 	Light 	3:12
3 	Feathers 	6:43
4 	Rain 	3:06
5 	Time 	5:52
6 	Birdwoman 	5:39
7 	Strata 	4:33
8 	Glass Sea 	5:12
9 	Croft 	5:15
10 	Trains 	3:53

Composed  and Performed by Poppy Ackroyd

Following two albums of inventive compositions for piano and violin released by Denovali Records, Poppy Ackroyd moved to One Little Indian in 2017. Her first recording for the label is Sketches, which finds her revisiting pieces from her prior albums in addition to presenting some new material. On 2012's Escapement and 2014's Feathers, Ackroyd demonstrated a highly visceral, physical approach to working with her instruments, playing them inside and out in percussive as well as melodic manners, and creating unusual and fascinating tones and timbres. On top of all of this, she utilized computers to edit, multi-track, and metamorphosize the sounds, as well as adding field recordings for additional sonic impact. On Sketches, she presents her pieces in solo piano form. Field recordings are still present on select pieces; naturally, "Birdwoman," "Glass Sea," and "Rain" feature the sounds of birds, a body of water, and rainfall, respectively. Ackroyd's playing is highly nuanced and delicate, and she's able to gracefully flow from sweet, hopeful melodies to more sad, haunting ones. "Time" is a particular standout, rippling from fear to ecstasy without sounding jarring or conflicted. It all sounds incredibly pretty, of course, but after listening to these pieces in their previous forms, these stripped-down interpretations inevitably feel like a step backwards. Perhaps this is simply a clearing of the palette, with Ackroyd feeling the need to get back to basics before she makes her next sonic breakthrough. It sounds perfectly fine and relaxing, but her earlier albums stand out more. ---Paul Simpson, AllMusic Review

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