Starling Arrow is an all-star cast of spirit-folk songstresses featuring Leah Song and Chloe Smith of Rising Appalachia, Tina Malia, Ayla Nereo, and Marya Stark. Powerhouse songwriters in their own right, and innovative leaders within the industry, the joining of the 5 songwriters and singers have created a potent gift of synergy. All share a common devotion for the love of songwriting which they have elegantly captured in their debut album, Cradle, due out January 2023.
Starling Arrow was unintentionally conceived during the pandemic’s lockdown. In the wake of canceled tours, the 5 musicians were inspired to meet weekly over Zoom to collectively sing and alchemize the chaos of a changing world into their craft of songwriting. Each week they choose a topic and style of song to inspire their writing. Then, the following week, they would share what they had created, in the round, each taking a turn to unveil their song. It was during these sessions from which the new album was born.
The first song off the new album is “Wild Sweet.” It is a stunning new song, that shines a bright light on their songwriting and harmonies. The new song is due out Friday, October 7th, and will be available everywhere you stream music:
Ayla Nero wrote and shared the song “Wild Sweet” with the ensemble and recalls, “Each of us was tasked with bringing two original songs to record. While I had a few options of lullabies to bring, and even started recording 1 of them, I felt something else wanting to come through. Tina encouraged me to keep searching and in the wee midnight hours, I rediscovered this melody from the archives of my recordings.” She says, “The foundation of Wild Sweet was born out of a loop pedal improv on a New Year's sunrise set at a small festival many years ago. But the song was fully written during our recording process together in Asheville.”
“One of our songwriting prompts during our group mastermind had been ‘polishing an old gem’, so I dove into polishing this song seed. The lyrics came swiftly, inspired by the energy of being in the cocoon of staying at home during lockdown, as well as the cocoon of our songwriting immersion, and the magic of recording this album together. It was the final song to be written during this cycle of our collective song-catching journey and captures the essence of what we were gathering. Wild Sweet sings to the emergence of widened wings after a deep season of rest, just as humanity is re-emerging into a new season of becoming."
Over the course of 2 years, the collective wrote countless songs. Deep in their own creative exploration, the 5 muses chose to keep the music to themselves. But the universe had other plans. And thanks to a spontaneous meetup in person, the desire to sing together, the group began to record with Tina Malia at the helm as producer and engineer. These songs are what fed the creation of Cradle, to be shared January 2023, with 2 more singles coming this fall.
Pre-save the new single here: https://sym.ffm.to/wild-sweet
Tracklisting for Cradle:
“Name Of The Wind”
“Into The River”
“Hush Hush”
“Swoon and Wander”
“By The Jordan”
“Wild Sweet”
“Fly Away”
“Rock Me”
“Oh Darlin”
“Volar”
“Pretty Horses”
“Midnight Hum”
