‘Invisible Music’, a collection of traditional folk songs that influenced novelist Angela Carter, gracefully recrafted by Polly Paulusma, will be released by One Little Independent subsidiary Wild Sound on April 23. Also included are an array of readings by Paulusma as well as guests Kathryn Williams and Kirsty Logan.

This epic assortment explores a multitude of lyrical themes from long past, most of which describe in grizzly detail dramatic loss, love, incest, abduction, war and death. Having discovered that Carter either sang or knew these songs, reframing these ballads became important to Paulusma – songs such as ‘The Maid and The Palmer’ which depicts a survivor of child abuse, or ‘Jack Munro’ which bears witness to the wartime antics of a cross-dressing heroine whose bold challenges to society bring her out on top, or ‘Lucy Wan’ where we’re privy to a brutal slaying of a young woman whose brother is never held accountable. Paulusma could feel the presence of these songs in Carter’s writing, but she needed to climb inside them and sing them herself to truly understand their power. Across the entirety of this LP we’re given the chance to view forgotten historical tragedies through a fresh lens, and through proximity to readings from Carter’s prose, to see the interplay between these old songs and Carter’s contemporary writing. Through Carter, Paulusma brings us the heroines she was influenced by, restoring historical narratives of female agency which are in danger of being lost.

Paulusma was catapulted around the world supporting Bob Dylan, Jamie Cullum, The Divine Comedy and Marianne Faithfull, and played Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival among many others, touring the USA and Italy. She signed to Sony/ATV in LA, and opened for Coldplay at their secret show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. Paulusma made a sister album for ‘Scissors In My Pocket’ called ‘Cosmic Rosy Spine Kites’ (an anagram) — all the same songs, but different versions — which was released in 2005.

Paulusma began teaching Cambridge English undergraduates in 2013; in 2015, she was awarded an EFDSS Artist Bursary followed by a full award for a PhD, from which her eighth and newest album, ‘Invisible Music’ — folk songs that influenced Angela Carter – stems. This album presents in sound Paulusma’s theories about the complex inter-relationships between music and literature. Her ninth album, ‘The Pivot On Which Everything Turns’, will present the wealth of songwriting since 2012. Scheduled for release in 2022, ‘Pivot’ includes notable songwriting collaborations with Kathryn Williams, Astrid Williamson, David Ford and Danny George Wilson.