Tinderbox Orchestra have announced their new spoken word EP which is set to be released in January 2026. The first single Echoes of Creation will be released on Wednesday 19th November, with a launch celebration at Push the Boat Out Festival.
Echoes of Creation was written in collaboration with Poet and former Craigmillar Library Manager Hannah McCooke in support of the ‘We Make Music’ Instrument Libraries – an initiative to get musical instruments into public libraries across Scotland.
We Make Music Instrument Libraries Initiative, the partnership between Tinderbox Collective, Music Partnership Education Group, and Edinburgh Libraries now operates in ten local authorities and 30 community libraries across the country – resulting in thousands of people having borrowed instruments.
The project collects donated instruments, restores them, and makes them available to anyone – free of charge – so you can borrow them just like a book.
Hannah McCooke said: “Echoes of Creation was written to celebrate the legacy of local working-class activist Helen Crummy.
“I worked as a community librarian when we were first piloting the instrument lending scheme, and I thought often of Helen and the campaigning she did for the children of my branch, at a time when a bare minimum education was deemed as more than enough for these kids. She campaigned tirelessly for equality of access to the arts and her impact is still felt.”
Performing at Push the Boat Out, the orchestra will also be joined by some of Scotland’s most exciting spoken word artists; including award-winning writer, theatre-maker and performance poet RJ Hunter, and spoken word poet, actor and rapper Ace V!s!on.
Bringing together rappers and singers with soaring strings, heavy brass, woodwind and thundering bass and drums, Tinderbox transforms preconceptions of what an orchestra can be.
Over the last few years they have performed at major festivals, events and venues including; Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall (Celtic Connections), Latitude Festival (BBC Introducing Stage), Fuse Festival (London), Hidden Door Festival, Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe by the Sea.
They have also produced multiple sell-out shows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and have toured across the UK and Ireland.
Claire Docherty, Orchestra Manager, said: “This EP is the culmination of the Orchestra’s work over the last few years, touring libraries across the UK and Ireland, championing the ‘We Make Music’ Instrument Libraries initiative, and highlights our distinctive collaborations with some of Scotland’s leading spoken word artists.
“Launching it at Push the Boat Out — Edinburgh’s international Poetry Festival — where Tinderbox Collective helped bring the project to life — feels like the perfect way to celebrate this work.”
Tickets for Tinderbox Orchestra at Push the Boat Out are on sale now at:
https://pushtheboatout.org/events/light-it-up-tinderbox-orchestra/