The Lost Songs of Scilly

Poole Lighthouse hosts the final date of Lost Songs of Scilly, a new project that explores the stories and songs of the Isles of Scilly. The national tour ends in Poole on 20th June, giving a Dorset audience the opportunity to hear the new music and songs created by Piers Lewin and John Patrick Elliott to celebrate these very special islands off the south west coast.
Poet, musician, wood-turner and cook Piers Lewis has lived on the tiny Scilly island of St Agnes for 25 years. Following the disappointing realisation that his island home (unusually for a Celtic outpost) has no surviving indigenous music, he has made it his personal mission to compose and perform music that reaches the very heart of the place. Early in this quest, he began collaborating with composer and producer John Patrick Elliott, a regular visitor to the islands. The concert and album evoke that Celtic heritage, the isolation of the islands, their traditions, their dramatic coastlines and weather and their history, entangled with but separate from the mainland.
There are foot-stomping reels, songs that sound as if they have always been sung and ambient immersive instrumentals. It is music infused with an unshakeable sense of place – evocative island soundscapes, field recordings woven through songs of the sea, celebrating the resilience of a creative, independent island community and transporting audiences to this truly beautiful place.
Much of the music is created and recorded outside in the landscape – the ambience of wind and wave reflecting Scilly’s unspoilt soundscape. Many of the dance tunes draw inspiration from the powerful traditional Celtic music of neighbouring Cornwall, while the songs distill the rich stories and complex traditions of a remarkable, resilient maritime community.
lostsongsofscilly.com