Spell Songs
Let the wild world into your eyes, your voice, your heart
Conceived and commissioned by Folk by the Oak festival, Spell Songs is a musical evolution of The Lost Words, The Lost Spells and The Book of Birds by acclaimed author Robert Macfarlane and award-winning illustrator Jackie Morris; creating a listening experience that intersects music, literature, language and art, as a call to reawaken our love of the wild.
The Spell Songs ensemble features the multifaceted talents and collaborative genius of Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux — all renowned musicians in their own right. Together, their music blends a diverse array of sounds from instruments like the kora, electroharp, cello, Indian harmonium and more, which are gorgeously layered with musical and linguistic influences spanning from Orkney to Senegal.
In Thin Air
We are delighted to announce that our third studio album In Thin Air will be released in September 2026 and you can pre-order now!
In Thin Air is our homage to Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane’s stunning new collaboration The Book of Birds - a book that is a love letter to the splendours and mysteries of birdlife. This will be our most beautifully presented release yet: a unique mixed‑media album including a CD, a hardback book, an intricate blackbird‑nest art card, and a specially commissioned fold‑out concertina‑style artwork of Jackie Morris’ Blue Migration.
“In Thin Air is…. a dawn and evening chorus woven by a murmuration of seven musicians –– a spell cast into the air”. Jackie Morris
“This album is a tremendous and powerful thing…singing bright and fierce right into our contemporary moment” Robert Macfarlane
Pre-orders Now Open PLUS Limited Signed Special Editions!
Spell Songs II: Let The Light In
OUT NOW!
Click here to order your copy!
Click here to download the lyrics
With the publication of The Lost Spells in 2020, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris gave voice and presence to yet more birds, animals and flora, and became a wonderful new source of material for our second album, Spell Songs II: Let The Light In, inspiring tracks such as ‘Bramble’, ‘Thrift’, ‘Swallow’ and ‘Red Is Your Art’ from the Red Fox spell.
We are delighted to present another truly collaborative work, a unique album that shines with a heartfelt passion, energy and sincerity, comprising 15 eclectic songs with folk, world, experimental, folk-rock, alt-country interwoven with little gifts of spoken voice, whispers, accents, dialects, native languages, birdsong, the bark of foxes, the soft sound of a moth’s wing, even the impassioned voices of a children’s climate strike. It is a truly magical listening experience.
Praise for Spell Songs II: Let The Light In
"Spell Songs II: Let The Light In proves equally captivating (to their first album) with a serendipitous blend of guitar, harp, woodwind, kora and more.…but it’s the group’s collective vocals that ace it.”
Neil Spencer, The Observer *****
"The album is a testament to the interplay between the musicians"
David Honigman, Financial Times ****
“A glorious blend of music and pictures celebrating British wildlife with all kinds of fantastic folk players involved.”
Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Folk Show
“Enchantment indeed”
***** Songlines
“Graceful and mighty”
**** The Scotsman
“It is a collection to share and reflect upon. So, gather round, cherish the songs, Macfarlane’s words and Morris’s imagery and steep yourself deep in the natural world that surrounds us and prepare to be spellbound”
Billy Rough, Folk Radio UK
"...one of the most beautiful albums I’ve ever come across.”
Lucy Shields, The Folk Forecast
The Lost Words: Spell Songs
Click here to order
Commissioned by Folk by the Oak Festival in 2018 the original, highly successful Spell Songs album was released in 2019 quickly being awarded Songlines Top of the World Album and later Best Album 2019.
The album was inspired by and became the musical companion piece to, the bestselling, prize-winning, and much-loved book The Lost Words, and the Spell Songs ensemble went on to perform sell out concerts at iconic venues aroudn the UK.
Praise for The Lost Words: Spell Songs
"Capturing the imagination of folk music's finest, ...gently reflective collection of original songs"
Mojo
“Spell Songs is a work of vision and brilliance...”
fRoots *****
“complex and beautiful and an absolute joy from start to finish”
RnR *****
“rapturously received”
BBC Music Magazine *****
Financial Times *****
"exquisite musical reimaginings and settings … an outstanding production”
Songlines ****
“beguiling”
The Sunday Times****
“a delightful homage to nature”
The Times****
"A brave and magical creation"
The Observer
Click here to read more about the creation of The Lost Words: Spell Songs
Gifts of Light
Spell Songs Digital LIVE Album
A live record produced during the Spell Songs 2022 Spring tour at Birmingham Symphony Hall and within the Hintze Hall of the Natural History Museum in 2021.
“...characterised by an uplifting vitality which soothes the soul...collaborative music-making at its very finest”
Folk Radio UK