The Islands - a great community album

The Islands is an ambient voyage to mythical islands, a reflective narrative about exploring and charting new lands. Each track plotting a different part of an imagined journey of exploration.

Released by Driftworks, this is the first of two albums, that have come about through a collaboration between artists and organised on our on-line community, Inner Echo (the second will be released on the wonderful label, Whitelabrecs). A self-created project that would produce a body of ambient work and unite the creative talents of our members. A pool of members were split into two groups and each submitted audio files - ‘sounds’ - that could be shared between participants. The idea being that the basis for these tracks would be created from this raw, source material that all artists in the group could draw on.

With the parameters set it only remained to devise a concept. We quickly concluded that maps seemed to be a universal visual element that we all seemed to be drawn to in some way or another. This progressed to the idea of discovering an island and stories like ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’ became a defining idea. So the idea of illustrating the discovery, approach and charting a mythical island was born. The finished tracks are not in any order but can possibly be seen as chapters in an as yet unwritten novel about the discovery of new lands.

Neither Driftworks nor the participating artists are taking any financial reward from this release. It is a fun and creative project that we have all very much enjoyed being a part of. However, could we do more? Yes...

The Islands is offered free or pay what you like and any monies pledged will be set aside and after six months, donated to a wonderful charity, Audiovisability. Founded in 2016, Audiovisability is passionate in its belief that deaf people can, and do, engage with and make music. Our projects focus on making audio visible, showcasing the talents and tenacity of the lived experiences of deaf people. Working with deaf children, deaf artists and deaf communities locally and globally, Audiovisability designs and delivers collaborative creative professional interventions and inclusive learning environments that are wholly original in their shape and form.

My sincere thanks to all participants.