Inspired by diverse music from around the world, and the natural world itself, Making Tracks brings together extraordinary musicians to create new work. Three editions of this residency have taken place to date, in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
In 2024, during a two-week residency at Cove Park, eight musicians developed new work in collaboration – including several pieces inspired by this year’s theme of Oceans – before heading off on a UK concert tour. Making Tracks is based around the idea that intercultural and interspecies approaches to music-making have the power to bring people together and foster a greater appreciation of both cultural diversity and biodiversity.
Anna McLuckie is a Scottish singer, songwriter and clàrsach player. Raised on classical and traditional music, Anna’s writing draws on her musical beginnings and also takes influence from her love of popular music and more experimental sounds. Her music sits in a world of contemporary folklore; her songs layered with interweaving harmonies, story led lyricism […]
Ayman Hlal was born in As-Suwayda, a city in Syria that is particularly famous for producing artists. A rising star in his homeland, war in Syria resulted in Ayman seeking refuge in Berlin. Trained in both Western and Middle Easten classical music, he started several projects in Germany, which have exposed him to further musical […]
Christian Mohr Levisen is a multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised in the rural area of Vendsyssel in northern Denmark. His main instrument is the rarely seen hurdy gurdy, a mechanical string instrument with roots in the Middle Ages that plays cello-like drones and melodies in the viola register. As the third ever in Scandinavia to […]
Helen Anahita Wilson is an Oram award-winning composer, sound artist, and performer who collaborates with trees, plants, people, and other living beings. As composer-in-residence at Chelsea Physic Garden in London, Helen’s creative relationship with plants has developed into a deep form of collaborative composition. Her unique interpretations of plant biodata and physiological activity readings, combined […]
While Kasiva Mutua learned drumming inspired by folktales told by her grandmother, she has developed her own knack for powerful beats. One of Kenya’s leading percussionists and drummers, her expressive playing can tell a story on its own, or keep a band perfectly in the pocket. Today, she’s an international touring percussionist, integrating African traditional […]
Nina Harries is a double-bassist, songwriter, and vocalist. Her debut self-titled solo album was released in 2019 with funding from the PRS Women Make Music fund, while her second record ‘Water’, funded by Arts Council England and recorded entirely by Nina onboard her narrowboat home, was released in February 2022. In addition to her solo […]
Ossi Raippalinna is a Finland-based percussionist, producer, researcher, educator, and drum-maker. As part of his recent master’s studies at Sibelus Academy, field trips to Senegal, Mali, Scotland, and Cuba have enriched his understanding of the interplay between rhythm and melody in percussion traditions – particularly within West African drum traditions. Ossi’s repertoire includes the drum […]
Shohret Nur is a rawap and dutar player, originally from Xinjiang and currently based in London. An award-winning performer, Shohret specialises in the Uyghur stringed instruments, rawap and dutar. Shohret’s great grandfather was a musician and dutar player from kasghar, Xinjiang, while his grandmother was a dutar player and a professional dancer. Continuing this rich musical lineage and supported by his grandmother […]
Cherif Soumano is a rising star of the kora. Based in Paris, Cherif’s music is of its time, while being deeply and clearly rooted within the traditional Mande kora repertoire that his father passed onto him in his homeland of Mali. He has performed alongside renowned musicians including Dee Dee Bridgewater, Tiken Jah Fakoly, and […]
Ranjana Ghatak is a singer and composer embedded in the classical and devotional Hindustani vocal tradition. Born and raised in London, Ranjana has collaborated and performed with a host of celebrated artists including Nitin Sawhney, Jason Singh, and recently alongside James Yorkston and Jon Thorne (as Yorkston/Thorne/Ghatak). Her debut solo album, ‘The Butterfly Effect’, was […]
Alaa Zouiten was born in Casablanca, Morocco, where he began his career as a master performer of the oud. Alaa moved to Germany in 2009, where he continued to experiment with the stylistic, technical and aesthetic possibilities of his instrument. In his compositions and arrangements, Alaa constantly seeks new musical perspectives. As a curator, he has […]
Anna Ekborg is a member of Sweden’s exciting new generation of talented young fiddle players. Drawing inspiration from her country’s rich fiddle playing traditions, Anna has built up an extensive and varied repertoire. In 2021, she released her critically-acclaimed debut album, ‘SOLO’. Nominated for a Swedish Grammy, the album has cemented Anna’s position as one […]
Lucie Hendry is a Scottish lever harpist and composer, based in Denmark. Interested in exploring the possibilities of the lever harp, Lucie is currently going about intertwining her folk music roots with influences from the Nordic jazz and wider music scene. Lucie’s upcoming debut solo album aims to take her instrument in new directions, with […]
Malin Lewis is a musician, composer, instrument maker, educator, and musical director from the Scottish Highlands. They play a range of instruments including various bagpipes, fiddle and whistle. Malin performs regularly across the UK with their trio, Malin Makes Music. Their music draws inspiration from piping traditions across Europe and features self-penned tunes as well […]
Iona Lane is a Leeds-based folk singer and songwriter. Fascinated by folklore and folk stories, Iona’s music is inspired by natural landscapes, scientific discoveries, human relationships and the supernatural, all tied together by a strong sense of place and a love for being in wild places. Her long-awaited debut album, ‘Hallival’ (2022) – named after […]
Born in Tehran and based in Belgium, Shahab Azinmehr is a vocalist and virtuoso player of the tar – a long-necked, narrow-waisted lute-type instrument (from Persian: تار, literally “string”), found in many cultures in Iran, Azerbaijan, and further afield. With a background in the restoration of historical monuments, Shahab began his music career as a singer, later […]
Rooted in the singing traditions of Aberdeenshire, Iona Fyfe has quickly become one of Scotland’s most celebrated young folk singers. Having spent her early years learning from local singers of bothy ballads (songs traditionally sung by farm labourers in the northeast region of Scotland), Iona became the youngest ever winner of Scots Singer of the […]
Simon Leleux is a Belgium-based percussionist specialising in doholla, darbuka and other Arab and Middle Eastern percussion instruments and styles. Shaped like a tumbler, the darbuka provided the starting point for Simon’s percussion journey and his interest in many other instruments, including frame drums, tombak, riqq, and drum kits. Simon has focused on studying the doholla (bass darbuka) since 2014 […]
Born in the Iranian capital Tehran, Azin Zahedi began playing flute at the age of seven, and took up the santour (Persian dulcimer) four years later, winning first prize at Iran’s National Festival of Youth Music in 2007. She moved to Germany in 2010 to continue her music education – first at the Folkwang University of Arts […]
Robert Bisha, originally from Shkodra in northern Albania, is a pianist, improviser and composer who plays an array of other instruments including accordion, çifteli (a stringed instrument found in Albania and some surrounding countries), frame drums and guitar. While much of his music is improvisatory, with avant-garde and jazz leanings, Robert is also heavily influenced by traditional […]
Thamires Tannous is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. She hails originally from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the central area of Brazil, home to the world’s largest tropical wetland, the Pantanal. Her style blends the musical heritage of her home state with contemporary Brazilian music, as well as occassionally paying subtle homage […]
Liz Hanks is a cellist, composer and collaborator based in Sheffield. While she has worked with an impressive array of high-profile artists across many different genres, she is particularly drawn to folk, Indian classical, and other music traditions. In recent years Liz has performed and collaborated with, among others, Martin Simpson, Jasdeep Singh Degun, and […]
Ahmet Ozan Baysal is a Turkish bağlama (saz) player, composer and performer, specialising in şelpe – an Anatolian bağlama performance technique that dispenses with a plectrum. Having played the instrument from a very early age, much of his music is a synthesis of traditional bağlama şelpe performance practices and harmonic practices in tonal and jazz music. Ozan has performed […]