Agent Starling is set to release its fourth album, Surrealista Enigma Musica, on Friday, March 13, 2026.
The project features Quentin Budworth (hurdy-gurdy), Lou Duffy-Howard (voices, bass, programming), and Dexter Duffy-Howard (violin). The record combine acoustic performance with field recordings, found sounds, and manipulated electronic tones.
Surrealista Enigma Musica follows Clandestine, Constellation Of Birds, the debut album European Howl, and the winter EP The Northern Lights. The new release includes 12 original tracks that move between instrumentals, songs, tunes, and spoken word. The music is grounded in European traditions and focuses on themes of magic, myth, mystery, dreams, and a greener, peaceful future.
The preview single, “Jokul Frosti,” takes inspiration from a Norwegian nocturnal giant associated with cold weather and frost patterns.
“Automatic Writing,” the opening track, will serve as the release-day single.
Budworth and Lou Duffy-Howard began Agent Starling as an experimental recording project during pandemic lockdown, when festival touring paused. Budworth recorded hurdy-gurdy parts in his Bridlington studio, while Lou developed songs in her East Yorkshire studio. Dexter contributed violin, cello, and harmonium from Leeds. The trio now live in Hull, Leeds, and Skye, and continue to work through the same remote process.
Lou Duffy-Howard previously played in the UK indie band Red Guitars and currently leads the psychedelic rock band Loudhailer Electric Company. Budworth, a former member of Suns Of Arqa, also fronts Celtarabia, a world music–leaning medieval rave project. After traveling across Europe to meet other hurdy-gurdy players, Budworth published The Secret Life Of The Hurdy-gurdy: Field Notes On Playing in 2025. Dexter has completed his studies at Leeds Conservatoire and has begun his career as a professional jazz violinist.
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Agent Starling photo by Richard Duffy-Howard
Author: World Music Central News Room
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