Born in Wales – but now based on Tyneside – this singer/songwriter/cello player should be your go-to artist for folk music that’s been warped into something very special indeed.

We’ve previously waxed lyrical about Ceitidh Mac within these pages before, but she’s also been winning plaudits from across the UK for her wholly original style that has a deft but undeniably enrapturing quality. (Indeed, Adam Walton of BBC Radio called her set at the Green Man festival the highlight of the whole programme, opining: “Sublime and absolutely outstanding.”) Her new single ‘Ground’ – released on 24 April – was recorded and produced by Sam Grant (Richard Dawson, Pigs x 7) and it’s one of those tracks that works a rare kind of magic on you, full of the subtlest melodic pushes and pulls, and replete with Mac’s exemplary cello work, tenor guitar, synth washes and a quite gorgeous vocal. Mac: “This song came from looking at the chaos in the world, and trying to work out what you do when things are breaking down around you.” She’s due to support The Unthanks at The Glasshouse in Gateshead on 5 June, which is a double-bill glinting with real treasure. DP

Seek: ceitidhmac.com