This Earth Day, we’re proud to highlight a selection of artists whose music is deeply intertwined with the natural world, whether through storytelling, sonic landscapes, or cultural heritage. Their work serves as a reminder of our shared responsibility to honor and protect the environment, inspiring listeners to reflect on the beauty and fragility of our planet.
/// Populous – Objetos Enterrados (Peer Southern Productions)
The savage, lunar landscape of Lanzarote is the dreamy setting for the latest single from the Italian DJ and producer, Populous. Objetos Enterrados gives the listener an organic mix of ethereal melodies blended with experimental electronic sounds flavoured with cumbia influences, as the author himself defines “Latin ambient”. This single opens the stage for his highly anticipated album, 2025’s Isla Diferente.
/// Nina Nesbitt – Parachute (Apple Tree Records)
Inspired by the folk traditions of her Scottish village upbringing and the vibrant chaos of her twenties in London, Mountain Music celebrates the small-town girl and embraces the big-city woman, weaving an authentic and emotionally rich narrative.
Nina invites us into the intimate landscapes of her life. It’s not just a collection of songs; it’s a heartfelt journey through the soaring highs and crushing lows that have shaped her. From the breathtaking altitudes of love to the gut-wrenching depths of heartbreak, each track is a testament to the human experience, a melodic exploration of life’s unpredictable terrain. It’s an album that holds your hand through the tumultuous storms and the serene calm, it is the soundtrack to your own peaks and valleys.
/// Awen Ensemble – Upon Leaving The Dream (New Soil)
Seven-piece folk-jazz collective Awen Ensemble released their debut album, Cadair Idris, on April 12 via New Soil. Drawing on the pastoral melodies and modal jazz elements of ‘70s folk-rock acts like John Martyn, Fairport Convention, and Pentangle, Cadair Idris is an enchanting coming together of druidic mysticism, wild landscapes, spoken word, and soaring improvisation that offers a fresh perspective on folk-influenced jazz from the British Isles, Awen Ensemble is embarking on a legacy of its own making.
Based on the myth of Cadair Idris, the Eryri (previously Snowdonia) mountain close to the heart of trumpet player and band leader Emyr Penry Dance, it follows the journey of a young woman who spends a night on the mountainside in search of personal transformation. Carried by Amy Clark’s spectral vocals, the narrative unfolds over nine wistful, wind-swept tracks, like a pagan dream-sequence with a spiritual jazz sensibility.
/// Cosmo Sheldrake – Interdimensional (Tardigrade Records)
Interdimensional is the third single from Cosmo’s second studio album, Eye to Ear, and reflects on the feeling of losing the normal sense of self. The concept came to Sheldrake on a solo musical retreat in Somerset as almost one long thought, though it took four all-night sessions to emerge into a song. The track features the all-female & nonbinary vocal ensemble, HOWL. Throughout the album, Sheldrake explores themes of transformation, excess, madness, and imagining the world from the perspective of other natural beings – a bird, a flower, a river, and the wind.
Image Credit: Populous (Album Artwork by Daniele Castellano)