Ben McElroy

Ben McElroy is a UK-based artist working at the intersection of folk, ambient and experimental music. Since his 2016 debut for Whitelabrecs, he has released a steady stream of acclaimed records, including 2018’s The Word Cricket Made Her Happy on eilean rec. and 2022’s How I Learnt to Disengage From the Pack on The Slow Music Movement, which was named folk album of the month by The Guardian.

His latest album grew out of extended improvisations on pump organ and cello, with a focus on raw expression over polish — repetition, scraping, and imperfection as a form of emotional excavation. McElroy deliberately left in the creaks, mistakes and noise, resisting the urge to refine. With support from the PRS Foundation, he expanded the project through spontaneous collaborations with Debbie Armour (vocals), Elinor Rowlands (spoken word), and Nick Jonah Davis (guitar), capturing their contributions as they happened.

The release is accompanied by a 16mm short film, Widdershins & Deosil, created in collaboration with filmmaker Benjamin Wigley. Shot in Derbyshire, the film weaves together magic, puppetry and fragments of the album’s soundworld.