METHERA celebrate their ten-year anniversary with a performance at Ruskin Mill in Horsley, Nailsworth on Friday, November 25 as part of their national tour.

The groundbreaking folk string quartet, who have their roots firmly planted in the musical traditions of England, Sweden and beyond, launched their 3rd album Vortex on November 4 and will showcase their unique and captivating sound in a series of venues in the UK.

Broadcasted on BBC Radio 3, Methera have established a real reputation as a scintillating live act and will provide their newly composed pieces alongside the timeless traditional material.

As for the latest album, Vortex, the title is said to reflect a Methera trademark, according to cello player Lucy Deakin.

"We always play in the round, in a close inward-facing circle. It means we hear every detail of the collective sound and can bounce off each other’s ideas in real time," she said.

"We arrange all of our music together, and the individual notes we play are rarely set in stone - rather they are influenced by the room, the acoustic, the audience and what we are hearing in the moment.

"In our gig book, audiences write 'so magical to see and feel your interaction' and 'you create a vortex of sound that spirals out of the circle', which sums up what we are trying to convey."

The self-released 43-minute album is available via: www.methera.co.uk and follows the critically acclaimed second album In Concert.

Ten years on from Methera's first public appearance they are as captivating and innovative as ever, with Lucy Deakin (cello), John Dipper and Emma Reid (fiddles) and Miranda Rutter (viola) combining a deep knowledge of traditional music with a wide range of other influences and expertise and a deep sense of musical interaction.

Described as both sophisticated and earthy, groundbreaking and familiar, enchanting and thrilling, it's chamber folk at its best.