Umbrellabirds

Umbrellabirds is the musical collective of Sam Blickhan, Lewis Daly, and Alex Hunt. The transatlantic three-piece began as a long-distance recording project when Sam Blickhan and Lewis Daly began exchanging demos in 2013. Alex Hunt heard these sparsely beautiful demos and initially signed up to produce, but was soon recruited as a full band member. The intricate, autumnal debut album was released in 2016, the product of many late nights and countless miles of travel. Oda Almås played strings on the self-titled debut. Shortly thereafter, the band began work on their second album — Closing Ceremony (2020) — featuring a bigger sound and a wider collective of musicians including Shyam Prasad on drums, Will Harvey on strings, and Cath Day on clarinet. Released on 14 November 2025, their third album — BACK TO LAND — further develops their signature indie-folk sound. Umbrellabirds have been played on BBC 6 Music by DJ Tom Robinson and featured on the Fresh on the Net blog and BBC Introducing Mixtape.

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