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Returning with her first solo album in three years, acclaimed singer-songwriter, cellist, composer and MOBO-nominee Ayanna Witter-Johnson is excited to announce the release of New Roots, out on her Hill and Gully Records imprint on Friday 18 September.

Listeners are welcomed into an intimate world born in solitude, but shaped by lineage, memory and deep listening. Cementing Ayannas status as a musical polymath and world-builder, the record delves into her Caribbean heritage and spiritual practice, imbuing her exploratory, soul-leaning sound with the colour of jazz and groundedness of folk story-telling.

Sitting somewhere between the unique intimacy of British soul acts like Lianne La Havas and Ego Ella May, but with nods to the instrument-rooted jazz & vocal crossover pioneered by the likes of Esperanza Spalding and Meshell Ndegeocello, Ayannas compositional approach is centred around her relationship with the cello. The instrument functions as both rhythmic anchor and emotional compass, often used as a bass-like, percussive force that grounds the songs in the body as much as the spirit.

An acclaimed and celebrated performer, Ayanna has collaborated with many stellar artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Nitin Sawhney, Andrea Bocelli and Jools Holland. She has also toured extensively across the UK, Europe and the US, and her most recent world tour was with the renowned Peter Gabriel. Ayanna is a performer of extraordinary versatility, due to her musical prowess, mesmerising vocals, uncompromising lyrics, and ability to deftly reinterpret songs on the cello. Her must-see live shows are intimate journeys that chronicle her experience as a female artist in the 21st century.