Rob Luft & Elina Duni ft. Fred Thomas

Lost Ships is a stunningly exquisite collaboration between Albanian singer Elina Duni & English guitarist Rob Luft.

Elina Duni and Rob Luft’s programme of songs of love and exile has been gathering momentum since 2017, when the Albanian-Swiss singer and the British guitarist began their collaboration.

Along the way the duo has been augmented by several distinguished guests, with multi-instrumentalist Fred Thomas making a significant contribution to the overarching concept. The migration crisis, a theme explored on Elina’s earlier album Partir, is again a central issue, so too are ecological concerns.

Material is drawn from many sources: “There are songs that touch upon past influences, with the sound of Albania and Mediterranean folklore ever-present. We wanted to explore other musical roots, too: timeless jazz ballads, French chanson, American folk song…”

The broad range of music addressed runs from traditional pieces to original compositions, via songs made famous by Frank Sinatra and Charles Aznavour. Lost Ships was recorded at La Buissonne in Avignon in February 2020 and released on the legendary German record label ECM Records in November 2020 to widespread critical acclaim. It was subsequently nominated in the ‘Album of the Year’ category of the German Jazz Prize in mid-2021.