For more than 30 years, Beth Orton has been our antenna to the cosmos, the poet of forces too vast to grasp at a glance. As a testament to her art, "The Ground Above" is Orton's most direct and uncompromising music to date: haunting, raw, embodied and emotionally fearless, moving between unconscious expression and expansive, timeless songcraft. Her voice, which ranges from whispered incantations to primal wails, carries melodies reminiscent of classic songbook forms. Throughout the album, Orton documents survival and renewal, motherhood and identity, political unrest and the perpetual decision to stay - in love, in art and in the world.

As with her critical breakthrough 'Weather Alive' from 2022, Orton produced the album herself, staying true to the collective spirit of the original live recordings while shaping and expanding the album we hear today in a process that took over a year. Working with seasoned musicians such as multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, Vernon Spring's Sam Beste, drummers Chris Vatalaro (Antibalas, Radiohead) and Vishal Nayak (Nick Hakim), trumpeter Christos Styliandes and bassist Tom Herbert, Orton reaches new heights as a producer and songwriter.