Auka: Peak Practice

When this trio came together as Sheffield University graduates in the early months of 2020, eager to begin their journey to creating the organic, original folk sound they have since achieved, little did they know that the world was about to change. In spite of this, or most likely thanks to it, they have a created a rich tapestry of an album filled with inspiration taken from the wild spaces of Sheffield and the Peak District. 

While each band member hails from a different part of the UK, bringing their own musical influences and unique take on the folk sound to Auka, their adopted home of Sheffield seemed the perfect place to inaugurate their debut album, Evergreen (their launch show at local venue Shakespeare’s was only the trio’s second time playing “live and plugged in” to an audience).

The album opens with the title-track and the lilting call of Kirsty Lomax’s Irish flute, which is soon accompanied by Matt Gilchrist’s rhythmic guitar and Joss Mann-Hazell’s expressive, yet subtle, double bass. Each part captivating in its own right, while weaving together with the others to create something even greater. It is reflective indeed of their name choice, an Old Norse word that means to augment or grow. “We thought hard to find something related to nature, but we also wanted it to reflect that together we grow into something greater than the sum of our parts,” says Mann-Hazell.

Of course, restrictions meant that the group couldn’t literally come together for some time in the early days. It may be that the listener has lockdown to thank for the stunning encapsulation of the natural world on this album, because when Auka did come together in person they met where most did at the time – the great outdoors. “When we wrote ‘Brook’, it was the first time we could meet as a trio, so we drove to the source of the Porter Brook and sheltered from the rain in the woods,” says Mann-Hazell. “I was so happy,” adds Lomax. “I could hardly play the flute.” So clearly in tune with each other as both musicians and friends, the trio note another reason why ‘Brook’ holds a special meaning for each of them. “During the second lockdown we all lived together in a house which sat very close to the brook. We’ll always hear that tune and have those memories.” 

Big Moor, a rugged, isolated piece of land in the Peak District provided the inspiration for a track by the same name. “It was the first one Kirsty and I played together, and we’ve all spent a lot of time there,” says Mann-Hazell. “We recorded the birdsong you can hear on the track on top of the moor.” And, in a nod to the difficult times experienced by so many during the period, Lomax penned ‘Isolation’ as a reflection of the loneliness she felt while quarantining. “It was nice to be able to turn that period into something lovely,” she reflects.   

Read the review of Evergreen in the Songlines Reviews Database

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of Songlines magazine. Never miss an issue – subscribe today