She made her debut on the UK’s post-rock scene in early 2019 and sold out her first headline show at London’s Southbank Centre less than a year later, but even 2020 couldn’t slow down AA Williams. When the cellist-turned-singer-songwriter decided to add a new sheen to some old musical gems last year, she had no idea the result would help her not only find a new audience but also develop new skills. She takes Prog on a journey through Songs From Isolation.

Words: Hannah May Kilroy

Images: Thomas Williams

“In some ways, doing covers during  lockdown was great because you don’t have  to worry about the words and the melody,  but on the flip side, you have this huge  responsibility to honour the song.”

During the first UK lockdown, AA Williams soothed us through our screens with a regular series of cover versions from Nick Cave to Radiohead. Filmed in Williams’ London home and stripped back to just piano, guitar and her haunting voice, the songs felt warmly familiar, yet unique – just what the world needed in lockdown.

“At the beginning, I just wanted to do some videos – there was no goal of it being an album,” AA Williams says of the music that’s now been released as a full album, Songs From Isolation.“A lot of people were doing livestreams, but I wasn’t convinced at my technical ability, so I wanted to make something that wasn’t live. I put a little note out on Instagram asking people what songs they’d like me to play, and we had hundreds of replies – the whole thing kind of snowballed.”