100% of money from sales will go back into funding Ensemble activities.

Ensemble, the award-winning songwriting project based in Glasgow, is thrilled to announce the release of ‘Nightlight’, the first single from the collective’s debut album No Place Like It.

A collaboration between young person Steph McCrystal and professional musicians Jill O’Sullivan (Jill Lorean, Bdy Prts, Sparrow and the Workshop), Djana Gabrielle and Steph’s key worker Tony McNamee, the song was written throughout a block of Ensemble songwriting workshops in early 2019.

Full of heart and passion, embracing the bonds of kinship and friendship, ‘Nightlight’ – recorded at the iconic Chem19 Studios in Hamilton – serves as the perfect introduction to the album.

It features a stunning lead vocal from O’Sullivan, a unique melodist whose voice is as unpredictable as it is soothing, and which weaves a stunning path through an uplifting song with a message of strength and solidarity at its core, heard in the beautiful chorus. ‘If you feel lonely now, I promise it won’t last forever. If you can’t find the words, I can help piece them together.’

Steph McCrystal says about the song: ‘Nightlight is a story about me and my brother. We grew up in an abusive household and it talks about the troubles we had together. When I wrote the song I was in a homeless unit, my life was all over the place and I was diagnosed with anxiety so everything was very overwhelming.

‘Being able to write this song for my brother was really special to me. He deals with a lot, so if he ever needs me, no matter where I am or what time it is, he can listen to it and not be alone.’

‘Nightlight’ is indicative of the importance of the work done by Ensemble, helping young people, many of whom have experienced homelessness or mental health issues, to express themselves through music, writing songs with the help of professional musicians and songwriters.

It’s also a vital platform that allows its participants to raise important social issues related to their own personal experience. Steph says: ‘I want to raise awareness of child abuse and what goes on behind closed doors. Lots of people turned a blind eye to my situation. I was just a child and they thought it was normal or it was none of their business. I didn’t have a voice to speak up when I was little but I’m a grown woman now, I’m a lot stronger.’

‘The idea for the song came to me during an Ensemble songwriting workshop, then I went home and just poured my heart out on paper and took it all to Jill and Tony who helped turn it into a song. Writing with Jill was so inspiring and incredible, her presence just warms you and makes you feel at home.

‘Recording the song was pretty terrifying, I was dealing with a lot of social anxiety so talking to people never mind singing in front of people was nerve wracking. Luckily I had an amazing support system from everyone at Ensemble and my from key worker Tony McNamee. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to do it.’

Ensemble is an award-winning youth songwriting project based in Glasgow, funded by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI) and supported by Wheatley Care.