Elena Urioste records Jukebox album

Elena Urioste and Tom Poster have recorded an album of music from their UriPosteJukebox project for Orchid Classics, going on sale on 24 September, with a special vinyl edition released for National Album day on 16 October.

They began the project on the first day of UK’s lockdown last year and for 88 days posted a daily recording, often wearing fancy dress and responding to feedback and suggestions from their social media followers. They were given an RPS Inspiration Award for their work.

The album includes a selection of the music they performed, ranging from folk music and musical theatre by writers such as Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter to new music they commissioned from composers including Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Huw Watkins and Jessie Montgomery.

They explain in their programme notes: ‘There’s always been an element of nostalgia to the project, with the jukebox itself representing a throwback to a simpler way of listening to music – you put a quarter in the machine, choose your song, and your request is honoured. Looking back through our 88 daily music videos brings up a multitude of emotions: that specific brand of uncertainty that we all felt at the start of the first lockdown; the collective sorrow we grappled with as our lives as we knew them disappeared out from under us; and that unifying sense of being all in this together, even though we had no idea for how long or to what degree. While we as musicians hope never to find ourselves in such an uncomfortable spot again, we do hope the feeling of community – which brought us so much joy and solace – sticks, and that we can again and again turn to music to help us through times of uncertainty and bring us all together.’