Biography

Slate Islands are:

Al Firrell bass/cello | Polly MacLean vocals | Éilish McCracken violin | Andy Chapman guitar

The story so far:

Polly MacLean grew up on a small island off the west coast of Scotland. Swept southwards by a freak tide, she found herself on the lower reaches of London, where she eventually acquired a library job to sustain her. Over the years it filled her mind with intricate lists, dusty dreams and strange pieces of information; as well as reinforcing her native severity. (People who stole from the library or abused the staff began mysteriously disappearing.)

At night, pining for the hills and haunted by tragic news from home, she would roam the streets singing songs filled with windswept yearning and gallows humour. The darkened city finally revealed - one by one - Andy, Al and Éilish howling at the same moon. Slate Islands formed.

Influences:

Love and loss. The hills and the sea and the city streets. The lure of the bright lights, the call of the wild. The being in the wrong place. The railways.