Iona Lane a singer, musician and songwriter from North West England. Iona studied for a BA (Hons) Music (Folk) with a scholarship at Leeds College of Music. Iona has always had a passion for music but only recently started paving a career in it – she submerged herself in folk music, picked up guitar, and never looked back!
Swilkie, the new album from Highlands-based songwriter Iona Lane, weaves ecology, conservation, islands and folklore into poetic songs and contemplative melodies. Written during three residencies on the Isle of Eigg, Isle of Mull and Sanday in Orkney, sense of place and landscape are at the core of these songs. From basking sharks to lighthouses, lichen to vanishing islands, curlews to tree planting; the album was recorded in a boathouse on the West Coast of Scotland and the eager listener may even hear the lapping sound of the tide murmuring through the album. Iona’s connection to places by the sea is translated through these songs with evolving vocal melodies, subtle guitar and droning shruti box.
Iona is joined by a wealth of musicians on Swilkie including: Ben Nicholls on double bass; Louis Campbell on guitars/banjo; Malin Lewis on fiddle/pipes; Signy Jakobsdottir on drums/percussion; Jen Austin on piano; Alex Lyon on bass clarinet/clarinet; and Jenny Sturgeon, Josie Duncan and Michael McGovern on backing vocals.
Torus, the lead single (14/02/25), takes inspiration from the human relationship with basking sharks throughout history. The song starts in the time of folk tales, where sea monsters scare sailors and capsize boats. It’s thought that these creatures might have been misunderstood basking sharks feeding near the surface. The song moves right up into the 1960s when we culled basking sharks off our coasts, to near extinction, for the oil in their livers. In the present day basking sharks are a treasured part of our ecosystem and they are slowly making their way back to our waters.
Swilkie features a second disc of location recordings, exclusive to physical and bandcamp. This disc was recorded by Iona using a single location recording microphone and provides an insight into the creative process and the places that the music takes inspiration from. These tracks also feature fellow musicians and friends (Hannah Fisher, Jen Austin, Terra Burgoyne, Lachie Robinson and Bess Shooter) along the way! Iona plays a Taran Guitar, which she has been playing since 2020 when she was awarded the Taran Guitars Young Players Bursary. This album was made possible by the support of Creative Scotland.
