Ian Roland releases new album

Ian Roland’s latest album, The Wood Wide Web, offers a refreshing and thought-provoking take on contemporary folk music. Roland’s heart-strung lyrics, coupled with collaborator Simon Yapp’s masterful orchestration, showcase a unique sound that is both uplifting and poignant. The album’s overarching theme of humanity’s relationship with nature is woven seamlessly throughout each of the eleven tracks. Roland’s clever and emotive lyrics, combined with Yapp’s arrangements, make for a compelling and moving listening experience.

The album’s title, The Wood Wide Web, is a reference to the underground network of roots and fungi that exists beneath every forest and wood. Roland’s lyrics reflect on how this subterranean social network has been helping trees and plants connect with each other for nearly 500 million years. Through the album’s songs, Roland urges us to learn from nature and embrace the interconnectedness of all life.

The opening track, “Not Alone,” sets the tone for the rest of the album. Roland’s vocals, accompanied by Yapp’s violin, create an emotional soundscape that reflects on the growing migrant crisis and the impact of human migration on the planet, with the lyrics speak to the importance of embracing our interconnectedness.

The album’s second track, “Giant!”, reflects on the power and influence of corporate entities, particularly oil companies. Roland’s lyrics capture the frustration many of us feel at the limitation these entities place on our lives, which resonates particularly strongly given recent events such as the ongoing climate crisis.

“Nothing Could Grow There” was written during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the UK in 2020. The song reflects the fear, isolation, and concerns for survival that many of us felt during that time, and still feel today. Roland’s lyrics urge us to recognise the root causes of the pandemic, including the destruction of the natural world, biodiversity loss, and the exponential rise in consumption over recent decades.

“Can’t Lose Anymore” was inspired by a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall, South West England, where Roland learned about how trees and plants communicate with each other through a network of interconnections. The song’s lyrics encourage us to push past our fears and embrace the interlinking of all life. “New Life” similarly urges us to appreciate the importance of living in balance with nature and to push past our fears of change.

The album’s closing track, “This Movie,” is a powerful reminder that we are not bound by the pre-written life stories that the powers that be try to impose upon us. Roland’s lyrics urge us to resist the limitations placed upon us and embrace our individuality.

Overall, The Wood Wide Web is a masterful album that showcases Roland and Yapp’s incredible talents as musicians and songwriters. The album’s themes of interconnectedness and embracing nature are particularly poignant given the ongoing climate crisis and the impact of the pandemic and provides a stunning sonic reflection of the relationship between nature and modern society.

Listen to The Wood Wide Web