The Magnetic North

When the vision of Betty Corrigall -- an abandoned and pregnant-out-of-wedlock resident of Orkney who hung herself in the late 1770s -- came to <a href="spotify:artist:636k3cBTCgdZfXzCj7Cuaa">Erland Cooper</a> in a dream in early 2011, he set about bringing together fellow <a href="spotify:artist:60JLFYv4wEqsdgRSs8VGqs">Erland & the Carnival</a> member Simon Tong (<a href="spotify:artist:2cGwlqi3k18jFpUyTrsR84">the Verve</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6iy8nrBbtL57i4eUttHTww">the Good, the Bad and the Queen</a>) and Irish singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:3LRldYGJpCAQT5cZKQyi7o">Hannah Peel</a> to form the Magnetic North and write an album dedicated to the isles that <a href="spotify:artist:636k3cBTCgdZfXzCj7Cuaa">Cooper</a> had grown up on. Decamping to Stromness, the trio set about recording the album at <a href="spotify:artist:636k3cBTCgdZfXzCj7Cuaa">Cooper</a>'s parents' house, taking inspiration from the islands' history of folk music, poetry, and the harsh and beautiful landscape. The resulting Orkney: Symphony of the Magnetic North was released in 2012 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Full+Time+Hobby%22">Full Time Hobby</a>. After the success of the album and subsequent tours, the trio reconvened in 2015 to record their sophomore album, after focusing on each of their own projects. This time around, <a href="spotify:artist:3LRldYGJpCAQT5cZKQyi7o">Peel</a> suggested looking at the town where Tong grew up, Skelmersdale. Built in 1961 during the second wave of the post-war housing boom in the U.K., the "new" town eventually saw its decline in the '80s until the Transcendental Meditation movement decided to base themselves there, bringing families -- including Tong's own -- from across the country to live and spread their message of peace and love. After scrapping a huge amount of material, the trio went back to the drawing board, eventually returning with the album Prospect of Skelmersdale. Taking inspiration once again from the surrounding locations -- and the Transcendental Meditation movement -- the release drew more on the greys of working-class suburban Britain, evoking images of Ken Loach's Kes and Mike Leigh's kitchen dramas. Prospect of Skelmersdale was released at the beginning of 2016. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi