…we return to ground… awarded Coup de Coeur for Experimental Music

Quiet Music Ensemble and collaborator Karen Power are delighted to announce that …we return to ground… was awarded a Coup de Coeur 2024 for Experimental Music by the Charles Cros Academy at an event in Paris on 8 February 2025.

Anna Murray holding the Coup de Coeur certificate in Paris

…we return to ground… was released on the Other Minds label based in San Francisco, and features three works pairing natural sounds with musical instruments written for Quiet Music Ensemble over a period of 8 years, creating an ongoing sonic dialogue between the ensemble and the natural world. The album was one of ten favourites chosen from over 250 releases considered for the prestigious award. 

Founded in the aftermath of the war in 1947, the Charles Cros Academy defends musical diversity, ensures the preservation of sound memory, supports creation, the career development of artists, the entrepreneurial spirit and the courage of publishers. It presents annual awards in the areas of French-language song, Jazz/Blues/Soul, Young Audiences, Contemporary Music, Experimental Music, World Music and Recorded Speech and Sound Creations.

“I’m thrilled that such a substantive body of work, which has been allowed time and space to develop in partnership with Ireland’s foremost experimental ensemble QME, has received such a high international honour. It is always special when you feel that your music has been heard! Huge thanks to QME and Other Minds for their trust.“ - Karen Power

The album was represented at the certificate presentation event in Paris by QME Co-Director Anna Murray, with Artistic Director John Godfrey and composer Karen Power joining online for an interview with representatives of the Académie for an interview about the album.