Colour Fields by Trish Clowes & Louise McMonagle

Saxophonist Trish Clowes and cellist Louise McMonagle celebrate their long-standing musical collaboration with their first album, Colour Fields, released this February with Stoney Lane Records – an exploration of textures, mood and melody with a collection of intriguing collaborative compositions, experimental sounds and improvisations.

“Why do we not hear more of the cello and sax as a duo? Their sound-worlds, as shown by these two musicians, belong together. This is a warm, playful, exquisite partnership which has the perfection of Bach and the physicality of dance. It’s inquisitive, reaching out into every possibility the instruments have at their disposal, while making the listener believe we’ve known this all along. An intimate space, a vast cathedral, the open air, a frozen lake, a beach – this is music and a musical partnership which works in every imaginable setting, in the company of two compelling musicians.” - Fiona Talkington, BBC Radio 3

Clowes and McMonagle have been making music together for over 15 years, whether appearing as a duo, playing in Clowes’s band and Emulsion festival, or recording for BBC Radio 3 studio sessions. Both artists have built a reputation for delivering powerful performances, premiering and commissioning new works, and forging alternative paths on the London contemporary music scene. Colour Fields brings a collection of collaborative works and improvisations, exploring texture, mood, and melody - think Wayne Shorter meets Kronos Quartet.

The five tracks on the digital-only release develops the duo’s own language – a contrasting selection of approaches to performance, writing, and improv. Clowes’ opening track Cells is a series of cells of pitches and rhythms that both players improvise with, moving through them loosely together in dialogue. Song for Saariaho, also penned by Clowes, is dedicated to Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, and inspired by a duo piece of hers for bass clarinet and cello - Oi Kuu - which Louise was playing at the time of writing. Rise, meanwhile, is a jointly improvised track by Clowes and McMonagle, whilst McMonagle’s composition Haze is a short meditation on cello textures and the possibilities of layering.

Colour Fields is released on 13th February 2026 on all digital platforms with Stoney Lane Records, with an exclusive Bandcamp release on January 30th.

Tracklist

1.	Cells	4:58

2.	Dance with Me	6:18

3.	Song for Saariaho	7:44

4.	Rise	2:39

5.	Haze	7:27

Credits

released January 30, 2026

‘Cells’, ‘Dance with me’ and ‘Song for Saariaho’ written by Clowes; ‘Haze’ written by McMonagle; ‘Rise’ written by Clowes and McMonagle.
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Recorded July 5th 2022, Love Electric Studios;
Engineered by Andy Hughes;
Mixed and mastered by Chris Kelly;
Cover image by Will Darkin.
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Huge thanks to Chris Mapp and Tony Dudley-Evans for enabling the recording of this project, the genesis of which goes back to Clowes and McMonagle’s college days; to Sam for releasing this collection of compositions and improvisations on his label; to Andy for capturing our sounds, and to Chris for presenting them; and to Will for the use of his beautiful photograph for the cover.
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Stoney Lane Records - SLR1996
Released on 13th February 2026 on all digital platforms, with an exclusive Bandcamp release on January 30th.

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