Laura Donnelly releases her debut solo album ‘Let Your Listening Be Wide’, via The Whole of the Sky Records.

The singer-songwriter, musician and producer – who also provides artwork for the release – recorded the long player at home and at Carrier Waves Studio, before producing the 11 tracks with Andrea Gobbi. Her former Laki Mera bandmate also recorded drums and brass at GloWormRecording, where he mixed and mastered the album.

Donnelly began her musical career with Glasgow indie band, God’s Boyfriend, who released a split single on Fierce Panda in the mid-’90s.

She then helped form Laki Mera, who released three albums – Clutter, ‘The Proximity Effect’ – from which Mogwai produced a remix of ‘Crater’ – and most recently, 2013’s ‘Turn All Memory To White Noise’, on JustMusic.

Gobbi also plays bass on a release which sees multi-instrumentalist Donnelly perform much of the album herself – as well as vocals she takes on guitar, bass, keys and programming – although there is a smattering of guest appearances across the release.

Patsy Reid contributed violin, viola and cello (recorded by Jamie Pryke at Stereo Pigeon) while Tim Harbinson and Stevie Byrnes appear on drums, and Michael Owers plays trombone, flugelhorn and trumpet.

Mixing and mastering was completed during lockdown with Gobbi in the studio and Donnelly at home. “Using a system set up by Andrea I was able to hear what he was doing in real time, see his screen and communicate with him,” she says of the makeshift mixdown process, adding: “It worked a treat!”

‘Let Your Listening Be Wide’ is available to stream and download, as well as on CD or as a download at lauradonnelly.bandcamp.com.

More at www.facebook.com/lauradonnellymusic

The album is available from the usual digital services (you can work those out for yourselves we’re quite sure) as well as to stream or download on Bandcamp, where it can also be obtained on CD.