Sophie Barker

You may know Sophie Barker as one of the vocalists on Zero 7's Simple Things, that luscious, sweeping vocal at the forefront of the album's breakaway hit 'In The Waiting Line'. You may also know her for her work with Groove Armada, The Egg, Grooverider, Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Muki, or maybe for her previous solo album Earthbound. She also worked on The Rainbow Collections, a series of children's music. It's been a packed 10 years, that's for sure - but with the release of new album Seagull comes the chance to get to know the real Sophie.

Sophie Barker's new solo album Seagull reintroduces her with a more plaintive sound than before. And she talks about the new album - released on indie label Ho Hum Records - with an incredible excitement: "It's like serendipity calling and coming together through the most natural of sources."

Some of the songs on Seagull first surfaced in 2006, so it's been a long old ride. Sophie's ideas came together on her reflections - of how the world was changing, and how she was trying to situate herself within it. "Seagulls were coming into the city, and I kept imagining their view. Everything was upside down." It's the idea of a city being overly busy during the daytime, and its creativity only coming alive at night - and about trying to connect, be it emotionally or romantically. Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull - a fable centred on an experimental seagull with a thirst for knowledge - was also an influence.

It's that same desire to break away, a quest, that took this album so long to surface; it took that long to block out the distractions in order to find the light. During 2007 and 2008, Sophie had tried working with a variety of people - different producers, different live bands - but it just wasn't working: "There was a point when I wasn't sure whether this album was even going to come to fruition." That frustration finally lifted when she met Alex Pilkington and Mark Tucker, who co-run Ho Hum Records and also produced the record.