An evening with Hana Stretton & The Vernon Spring (UK)

From the fires and floods of the Australian bush on debut record Soon (2023), tiarn now takes us to the shores of the Pacific Ocean where classical and electronic arrangements move with an ever-present longing for connection and nature. Stretton has weaved a new world with tiarn, set on the brink of night, when the world is soft and suspended in blue. Living in isolation near the ocean, overlooking the winter migration of whales, Stretton would regularly swim during the brief 20-minute period known as the blue hour. Ideas would come to her in the icy salt water, and walking home in the dark, she would carry melodies back to record that night. At its heart, tiarn reflects ecological grief and the search for connection in a changing world. “I hear an artist who has entered completely into the stream where creation originates […] Hana Stretton has truly recorded the deep flourishing sound of a quiet listening mind in full blossom.” – Phil Elvrum The Vernon Spring is the recording project of North London-born musician Sam Beste, whose journey traces various arcs across jazz, soul, ambient, and songwriting modes. Beste’s earliest exposure to music came from his father’s eclectic record collection, which ranged from Thelonius Monk to Bob Dylan, D’Angelo to Luigi Nono. At age eleven, a chance piano lesson set Beste in a pivotal direction, prompting an ongoing passion for improvisation that shaped his life’s trajectory. Beste's dedication and talent placed him in Amy Winehouse’s orbit, whom he accompanied as her live pianist for the majority of her ascendent career. Their pairing paved the way for other significant and diverse collaborations, including work with Gabriels, Kendrick Lamar producer Sounwave, Beth Orton, Kano, Joy Crookes, Matthew Herbert, and MF DOOM. After years of writing and releasing music with the alt-soul outfit Hejira during his mid-twenties, Beste helped form the Lima Limo collective and label, which offered a supportive community and inspiring creative foundation. By 2019, he began releasing solo music as The Vernon Spring, developing a voice that merged his jazz background with contemporary electronic production. His debut EP and subsequent releases, including the acclaimed A Plane Over Woods, Earth, On A Good Day and most recently Under a Familiar Sun established a signature sound for The Vernon Spring: ethereal piano work layered with emotive vocals and subtle electronics.