Hana Stretton - Soon (Self Release)

I’ve quite possibly overused the term “ambient folk” the last few years, but I should be pretty safe from the genre classification police using the term to describe Stretton’s 2023 LP, she really does have a special gift for sliding her translucent vocals unobtrusively into comforting, lo-fi atmospherics. The whole LP is a start to finish gentle joy, if only I’d discovered it earlier.

Conceived and recorded around 2019 - 2020 whilst caretaking a family farm in Australia, at times with bush fires and flooding knocking on her door, sometimes without electricity for days, and months without human contact, it’s no surprise you can barely hear her voice at times, the introversion is palpable.

I’m guessing lockdowns were most urban dwellers first taste of “silence”, unless you’ve tried an anechoic chamber, although it’s nothing if not a relative concept. In my snowboarding days I’d sometimes wait at the top of the mountain when all the lifts had closed before descending alone or take a moment during off piste excursions when my companions had departed just to listen to the silence, but even then a gust of wind, my own breathing or despite my best efforts the rustle of my protective clothing would shatter the peace. It was pretty close though.

Soon was recorded in the midst of the outback’s “silence”, as Stretton largely decamped outdoors to record her songs. Consequently the LP is rich in the outback’s insect chorus, local bird calls, the protesting creaks of an old piano as the heat warped instrument was coaxed from its siesta. Livestock has its say, bubbling water sources and the wind come and say hello before continuing on their never ending world tour. Footsteps tread lightly offering a percussive element on one track, as a thirsty dog pants loyally by her side. The patter of rain quenches and the crackle of an evening fire warms, or do they? Field recordings are often subjective, perhaps I’m mistaken?

Samples are also snaffled, perhaps from a long wave radio or treasured records? More deliberate noises are shaped, spliced and then sprinkled judiciously throughout. Coming from a musical family obviously paid dividends, her unhurried picking and sedate strumming harmonising with, rather than trying to dominate her surroundings.

And then there is her voice, and what a beautiful voice she has. Can you hear her truths, well not clearly, and for me that’s the icing on the ambient cake. I’m sure her lyrics are as thoughtful as the compositions, and the inquisitive will listen intently to hear them, personally I’m content with the brief impressions real or imagined that can be gleaned as sentences are started but then fade to nothing, as if her mind is idly wandering or she is stricken with sudden doubts about oversharing.

This is not just any old ambient folk LP, this is one of those by which others are judged.