Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

This 2011 debut release sees Glasgow-based musician Shona Brown in her days before venturing into the experimental world of electronic loops and ambient sounds that now occupy her live sets and recorded output. A classically trained flautist and a multi-award winner as well as being a BBC Young Musician Of The Year semi-finalist, it's unsurprisingly Brown's swirling, soaring and highly evocative flute playing that steals the show. Of the five tracks, three take her chosen instrument as their lead with the likes of the jaunty folk-tinged opener "Prestado" and the beautifully haunting "Ocean Of Sound" being a masterclass in inventive composition and virtuoso playing. Elsewhere, Brown offers up tender vocal performances in "Singing Birds" and the song of unrequited love "Star" to prove that she is much more than just an instrumentalist. Support from the likes of Kirsteen Fowler and Kevin MacKenzie on clarsach and guitar respectively add to the indigenous folk feel of proceedings whilst Brown's progressive arrangements and stellar playing ensure that each piece has a style and feel of its own.

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