New Music & Video Release - Ali Whitton's 'Quiet My Heart' from debut 'Between The Forest And The Stars' - 28th November 2025
CREDIT - Emily Raftery
Artist Name - Ali Whitton
Release Name - Quiet My Heart
Release Date - 28th November 2025
Genre - Indie-Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic
Label - AMW Music
Indie-folk singer-songwriter Ali Whitton has today released ‘Quiet My Heart’ - a mesmerizing and introspective display of vulnerability and strength. ‘Quiet My Heart’ is the first single off Ali’s forthcoming debut album.‘Between the Forest and the Stars’, due to release in April 2026.
Ali Whitton’s journey has been one signposted with beginner bands, solo stints in London and Paris, romance and heartbreak, a relocation to Aotearoa and an assignment from a superstar. Though both his parents are British, Ali was born in New Zealand, but by the time he and his twin brother could walk, the family was back in rural North Yorkshire, living seven miles from the nearest town. His initial inspiration to write came from his father, when he discovered some old poetry of his from when his first wife had left him. “And so at that age, 13 or 14 or whatever it was, I just made that connection, that writing can be a way of working through something”.
This musical interest branched into Ali and his childhood friend playing at open mic nights, eventually expanding to a full band, billing themselves as Ali Whitton and the Broke Record Players. Following this was a shift to London where he began performing solo in small venues - sharing stages with another up-and-coming singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran, and the two became friends. Drawn by his love of nature and romantic dreams of his birthplace, he arrived in New Zealand in 2010 where after a lull period, songs started coming to him again. Ali adopted the performing name Lost Bird, which built a reputation on the New Zealand acoustic music circuit.
Playing to a stadium-full of Ed Sheeran fans in 2018 was an experience for which Ali is grateful. When the friends caught up next during Ed’s tour Down Under in 2023, Ed asked if Ali had written anything lately. Ali played him an unfinished song, ‘Quiet My Heart’ which he wasn’t sure about. Ed encouraged him to keep at it. Over the next few days Ali finished the song, recorded it on his phone and sent it to Ed. “And he was like, ‘It's a good song. You should record it. In fact, I've got a deal for you. Why don't you write a song a week for a year and I'll support you to record an album?’” Both friends kept their word, and by the second half of 2024 Ali’s debut album was well underway - produced by Dave Khan (Marlon Williams, The Veils, and Reb Fountain who also co-produced the album) and joined by musicians Gus Agars and Steve Harrop.
In ‘Quiet My Heart’ he negotiates a tentative peace with himself. “Quiet My Heart is about those times in life when we’re at our most vulnerable, buckling under the weight of something hard, but we have to somehow gather ourselves and keep it together. I was protecting my young son from the crossfire of a horrible separation, trying to manage the grief and pain associated with that whilst keeping his world happy and light”. At times of stillness and quiet, Ali almost had those words ‘quiet my heart’ as a mantra to focus on doing what was best for his boy.
Released today alongside the single is a captivating music video. Director Sadie Wilson says the inspiration for the video came directly from Ali’s lyrics. “We wanted to capture those moments of bittersweet sadness and Wellington's south coast (where Ali resides) provided the perfect emotive landscape for the gentle heartbreak of quashing your own feelings to let another’s bloom or the crashing waves of letting go.”
‘Quiet My Heart’ gives listeners a peek into the release of Ali’s full body of work, where tracks encapsulate the heart of a traveller, moving through the world. ‘Between the Forest and the Stars’ showcases a sound that is woody and warm, rich and layered, with Ali’s voice always at the centre, vulnerable yet true. There is comfort in this music, as well as a deep sense of longing.
See Ali Whitton live with Tom Cunliffe in:
WELLINGTON - R Bar, Thursday 27th November 7pm
OAMARU - Grainstore Gallery, Friday 28th November 7:30pm
CHRISTCHURCH - Space Academy, Saturday 29th November 8pm