More From The Heart follows the critically acclaimed 2022 debut, Heart of Mine by composer, songwriter and pianist Ross Lorraine. Produced by Claire Martin, the recording features leading vocalists Joanna Eden, Iain Mackenzie, Noemi Nuti, Irene Serra, Christine Tobin and Charlie Wood.

Lorraine has chosen six contrasting vocalists who sing two songs each to better serve the many genres and moods of the music. “Christine Tobin’s rich and emotional tones were a natural choice for the more folk-oriented tracks,” explains Lorraine. “I was very pleased to discover the voice of Charlie Wood, with its warmth and humanity, which seems to suit my songs perfectly. I already knew and loved the singing of Irene Serra – she has a strong, rhythmic style with a lot of character, that suited some of the more upbeat numbers, and Noemi Nuti’s sweet, expressive singing suited the gentler tracks. And I was delighted to get to know the singing of Joanna Eden, with her amazing vocal technique and emotional honesty, who perfectly realised the two songs that probably mean the most to me on a personal level, ‘After You’ and ‘Down On My Knees’.”

Most of Lorraine’s songs come from personal feelings or experiences, often starting with an improvised riff or melody that evokes a memory or emotional response including ‘After You’, ‘Down On My Knees’, ‘Human Kindness’ and ‘After All’. Others are imagined stories from people’s lives – ‘Dear Betty’ was prompted by a genuine three-line Victorian letter: Dear Betty/ I hate you/ Love, George. ‘Scissors Paper Stone’, ‘Finding Our Feet’, and ‘Sleep My Darling’, have associations with childhood, seen from the perspective of older age. Songs, such as ‘What You Got’, ‘He Said She Said’, Downtime’ and ‘You Never Knew Me’, have a more ironic view on life and relationships.

“I’ve always loved music from a wide variety of genres – jazz, classical, folk music from all round the world, rock and pop. I was particularly influenced by singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, and the story-telling style of Jacques Brel and Tom Waits; and my own music has ranged from contemporary-classical, to music for theatre, tango, free improvisation, jazz and everything in between,” says Lorraine. “I came to writing my own songs quite late in life and with Heart Of Mine, I finally found my own voice as a lyricist. But it is only in the collaboration with singers and players that the songs fully come to life. Sometimes I am amazed at how close the interpretations come to my original idea of the song, and sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by a version that I would never have thought of.”