Bethan Kellough - Aven (Touch)
This is a stunning performance of field recordings and strings, filled with drama and intrigue, grand gestures and detailed sounds. Diana and I were at the Touch showcase where this was recorded, and we both left agreeing that this performance (which was not headlining) was the best, so it's great to get to hear that confirmation in this touching release, which manages to be sonically intriguing and very human. This approach can sometimes sound like a space station 200 years in the future, whereas here it's more like humanity crawling from the caves, which accesses deeper.