Last weekend I was invited along to take some candid photos of Hattie Briggs recording her second album at Monnow Valley Studios near Monmouth. I really enjoy being involved with these sorts of shoots - not only am I able to document the events going on behind-the-scenes during the recording of an album, I also have the privilege of hearing some new material! After being at Monnow Valley for some of the recording of Hattie's first album back in 2014 I was excited to go back. I love hearing various snippets of the songs and even witnessing the recording of some of the parts, watching while each song is built up, layer by layer, to create the final album-ready versions. Of course I only heard a small fraction of the audio that will make up the final songs but some things were already starting to sound epic and I can't wait for the album to be released!

Alongside her producer Pete Waterman, Hattie was joined by a number of other musicians to help her record the album. This included the amazing cellists Asha and Barney as well as folk musician Jack Cookson who, earlier this week, was revealed as one of the shortlisted artists for the BBC's young folk musician of the year award - an accolade that Hattie herself received in 2014!

Here are a few of the photos...