Eliza Marshall´s migratory musical odyssey on tour this Spring

Migration has and always will be with us – whether the enforced migration of people or the seasonal migration of creatures. Humanity and the animal kingdom are capable of making astounding journeys and sacrifices in a bid to find safety, freedom or greener grass. But how do you reflect that shifting story in music? In The Rhythms of Migration an octet of top-flight folk, classical and world music exponents pool their talents at a global watering hole to create an outstanding cinematic soundtrack alive with motion - charting both the harshness and euphoria of migration coupled with compassion and hope for a sustainable planet Earth. Beautifully crafted, its 14 all-original tracks create an immersive, hour-long sensory experience, traversing themes from climate change to conflict, empathy and displacement.

The inspirational, thought-provoking album is spawned from the humanitarian/environmental Freedom to Roam project - the brainchild of classically-trained Eliza Marshall, flautist in the acclaimed Anglo-Irish alt-folk band Ranagri, who is also currently principal flute player in The Lion King in London’s West End.

Eliza has an enviable pedigree having worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, the Divine Comedy and Peter Gabriel and featured as a soloist on numerous film soundtracks from The Lord of the Rings, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Great Gatsby and David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet. Her haunting flutes, whistles and Indian bansuri underpin this captivating release.

It is a project originally conceived during a visit to the Isle of Coll in the Outer Hebrides but born out of COVID lockdown and lost freedoms. Says Eliza: “Little did I know how poignant the Freedom to Roam title would become with the pandemic. Being unable to perform one’s job was really difficult and led to questions of ‘What can I offer?’ ‘What can I do?’"

“As musicians we learned to use new tools and began to work in completely different ways. Collaborating across the internet when we were unable to gather together in recording studios demonstrated that online there are literally no borders.

I wanted to join the dots between the free migration we see in the natural world and the increasing difficulty faced by many who would like to move across borders to better their lives. In its broadest sense I hope it might inspire people to each do something to redress the balance of what we’ve done to our planet. I have been amazed and humbled by the support of so many to help get Freedom to Roam off the ground. This album is the starting point of an all-encompassing project that aims to help change our understanding of nature, wildness and our pivotal role in the future of life on this planet.”

Eliza gathered some exceptional musicians to fulfil the album which sees folk meeting classical, melding African, Celtic and Indian musical influences. The album is enriched by the exquisite playing of Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. Add to the mix the string players - Jackie Shave of the Britten Sinfonia on fiddle, Lydia Lowndes-Northcott on viola and the distinctive Robert Irvine on cello - and you already have something special, further enhanced by the brushstrokes of percussionist Joby Burgess, the haunting vocals of Dónal Rogers and the tablas of Kenyan-born Kuljit Bhamra, a pioneer of the British Bhangra sound.