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Debut album out now
Debut album of a growing project of songs of joy & justice
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Seeds are Sewing is Alex Etchartâs debut a cappella album featuring songs of joy and justice connecting stories and communities, recorded with over 60 singers from 3 guest choirs in just two days.
The original melodies, arranged for 9 main voices inc. Blythe Pepino (Vaults, Mesadorm) and Noga Ritter (Noga Ritter quintet, Mike King Collective), foreground queer, de-colonial and environmental love and protection issues via poppy, accessible riffs to uplift groups increasingly threatened by the global authoritarian onslaught on gender, migration and ecological rights.
The easy, catchy melodies and harmony parts will be freely available to use by campaigns, choirs and anyone who sings in the shower! The play on words comes from lyrics in the titular track âI sew into you, you sew into meâ about how sharing music and cultivating the land has the power to weave us back together.
The album can tour as a 9-piece, a trio or a solo show with an accompanying âJoy & Justiceâ vocal workshop, where audiences learn the songs beforehand to join in during the show. Music parts will be freely available to choirs, communities and campaigns who ask, in classical notation and harmony-by-harmony audio files.
From songs of trans solidarity to odes to sunsets and even a cappella salsas, let it be a balm through the winter, with ear worms that get you singing with friends and family and provide a sense of hope.
Alex Etchart (they/them) is a British Uruguayan multi-disciplinary artist using music, theatre, film and education to amplify voices of marginalised communities and campaigns across the UK and internationally.
As a multi-instrumentalist composer drawing on British and South American folk traditions, Alex mixes folk, jazz, classical and electronica into captivating sounds, and unearths invisible stories via performance and through collaborative writing and singing workshops.
Alex co-leads Nest Collectiveâs Fire Choir whose members sing on tracks 1, 9 and 10.
Alexâs first music video & 11 minute short film âJohnny Barnesâ (2023, 5 film festivals to date) is used in secondary schools and teacher training to engage young people around non-binary history via storytelling.
As founder of âVientosâ bilingual tropical folk rock band, Alex has been painting a cinematic dance-scape of queer love in Londonâs Latinx diaspora through rich folk ballads, soulful electronica and fiery percussion.
Use these images to write posts, press articles or make Insta/facebook stories.
Image credits where relevant are in the file title.
Tag me @alexetchart on insta & bluesky
& @alexetchartvientos on facebook
Download images as a zip (107mb)
Alex' band Vientos is going on tour in May to
London, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Brighton, Machynlleth
click here for tour dates.
The album is available as an a cappella solo show, trio or a 9net for full harmonies. September album/vinyl launch feat. Fire Choir to be confirmed. Music parts will be sent out to audiences in advance to learn the songs to make it an epic interactive experience.
The album is available as an uplifting singing workshop, no experience necessary, and a songwriting workshop making easy catchy songs on themes of justice & community care. Parts will be made freely available online for small choirs, community groups & campaigns.
A digital songbook will be published with full choral arrangements & accessible individual harmony recordings and innovative notation. Over the time the project can grow to include others' works, a follow-up album and become a living, breathing songbook of songs of joy & justice.
The soulful and playful title track speaks to our relationship with the earth mirroring our relationship to each other. It was written for a retreat for global south environmental campaigners to restore resilience and hope.
The opening âseeds are sowing and buds are growingâ was sung to rhubarb grown on the roofs of Somerset House for Clare Pateyâs Edible Utopia project - reimagining the urban landscape covered in edible fruit and veg and recycling coffee grains from local cafĂ©s to grow mushrooms for restaurants.
For the recording, the âI sew into you, you sew into meâ section was extended and improvised over, inspired by a jam that broke out at a fireside where singers repeated and built it over half an hour, growing the harmonies and call and response to a fever pitch. The record captures that feeling with Fire Choir in full flare.
The ending âready for changeâ was sung by 1,000 people of all ages involved in organic and cooperative growing projects across the UK, in the closing ceremony of the Land Skills Fair in 2024. The choir takes it to infinity and the last four bars see Blythe Pepino (Vaults, Mesadorm) pierce through with her acrobatic soul riffs.