The full moon through trees and mist. Towering majestic cliffs above a quiet rural valley. A calm river winding through a rocky landscape. A swim in a tidal ocean pool. A muddy swamp, teeming with life. The effects that being in nature has upon our senses and our minds, and the stories and memories that places hold. This is what Underwards makes music about.

Led by award-winning trumpeter and composer Ellen Kirkwood, Underwards features some of Sydney’s most exciting, versatile and creative musicians. Their music, like nature, combines beauty, mystery, colour and rhythm, but also leans into the ways humans experience nature; sometimes we feel joy or calm, other times melancholy or bewilderment, even awe.