Ben Walker has announced his second album, Banish Air from Air, out on Folkroom Records on February 24th. Pre-order the album now here.

Three years in the making, the record explores the relationship between mankind and nature. Featuring traditional material, reimagined poems and Ben’s first foray into songwriting, Banish Air from Air also sees the acclaimed guitarist collaborate with an enviable list of guest vocalists.

These include Mercury Music Prize nominee Sam Lee, fellow BBC Folk Award winner Nancy Kerr, and a selection of newer voices, from singer-songwriter Sophie Jamieson to rising post-punk star Lucy Alexander and recent tourmate Kirsty Merryn.

The first single, Starlings, however, is just Ben, a characteristically expressive instrumental piece, a sound painting of birds in flight, matched with stunning animations from Marry Waterson.

As Ben says: ‘When I asked Marry to make me some films for this album, I gave her no directions. She just promised me something ‘lovely and devastating’, and that’s entirely what she made.

‘Everything on this album is about how we humans have tried and keep trying, imperfectly, to make sense of the world around us. Starlings was the first thing I wrote for it, it feels like a lifetime ago, pre-pandemic, inspired by the murmurations of starlings on the seafront near where I live. We still don’t really know how they do it. They don’t need words to communicate, but they all know where they’re going – I wanted to describe the feeling of it without needing words either.’

Banish Air from Air will be available online and in record shops from 24 February 2023 on Folkroom Records. Pre-order it now here.