Release started life as a live commission for Glasgow based international music festival Celtic Connections in 2017. Scottish harper and singer Fraya Thomsen composed the music in a basement in East London, channeling a plethora of idealist themes into three movements. At the time, the piece was titled Community and Stardust – a reflection on our individual human scale and the importance of interconnectivity. In response to practicalities, Release was recorded in musicians’ homes and studios across the UK in 2020 during the pandemic. The musicians, who had originally devised and performed the piece, have generously contributed their diverse spread of musical backgrounds and flare to the identity of the album. Sarah Allen’s punchy rhythmic alto flute, Shanti Jayasinha’s soaring flugelhorn, and Colette O’Leary’s lilting accordion are all a part of Fraya’s teenage musical landscape, a formative time when she realised that she must keep making music. Louise McMonagle (cello), James Maddren (Drums/percussion) and Cameron Maxwell (bass) have brought a wealth of passion and musicality to the album. Artist Lucy Cash has written the lyrics to one of the songs on the album and has been an inspiring sounding board along the way. 

Winner of the 2021 Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clàrsach (UK), Fraya Thomsen is a composer whose foundations began with the traditional music of Scotland.. From an early age she was attracted by the raw emotional quality embodied by the Scottish musicians around her. She aims to draw on this in her approach to composition. With an MA in Composing for Film and TV from the National Film and Television School, a BA (Hons) in Scottish Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and a PGDE in Primary Teaching under her belt, Fraya’s diverse interests are reflected in her body of work. She also teaches full time in a state school. 

She has composed music for a number of award winning short films, including winning the Best Composer award at the 2013 Underwire Film Festival for score for short film Stay The Same. She also loves to compose music for contemporary choreographers and multimedia artists. 

Fraya has performed at festivals throughout Europe, the United States, South America and Australia, most notably as one half of the harp and song duo The Duplets who have released two albums to critical acclaim. The opportunity to work as a musician in a community during a year-long residency with Feis Rois saw Fraya visit community groups through the Highlands as well as releasing a trio of harp tuition books, published by Taigh Na Teud and later featured in the Trinity exam syllabus and the Scottish Music grade exams.

A special thanks to the Friends of Highland Music and the Indigogo community, whose financial backing has brought the project to completion.

Bandcamp | frayathomsen.com