ABIGAIL HOPKINS — Storm
A single and video drawn from the album Stardust
Storm is the first single drawn from Abigail Hopkins' forthcoming album Stardust.
Stardust is an utterly compelling work of music, of sounds, of voice, of words, spellbinding and mysterious. The album brims with a universal, big-hearted, edgy awareness. Evocative and moving, Stardust has that special kind of honesty which seems to say we are part of a much larger world or something larger still, even as we try to face hard personal challenges. And sometimes survive, to look back at what’s happened and to see a whole new and vivid picture of the world. And to hear music all around us.
Stardust, recorded at home, has come out of Abigail’s experience of surviving bowel cancer. “I was determined to channel my personal pain through creative work. While finishing my chemotherapy, I came up with the idea of creating an album with proceeds going to charity. I've had side effects which included frozen shoulders, and neuropathy and more, so undertaking an album has required a lot from me,” Abigail explains.
The powerful video for Storm, filmed along the Sussex coast, was made by Abigail herself...
When I was diagnosed / My life turned / upside down / I could psycho-analyse it / Or I could / spin it around / Instead, I found myself / With my head in my hands / Trying my best / to understand
Chorus: There’s a storm coming in tonight / So, keep the light burning bright / The clouds are gathering over the sea / This storm is heading straight for me
And who was I to think I’d be spared / Just ‘cause I loved life / Just ‘cause I cared? / Every time the tears are there on my face / Should I pray to God / To bring me back my faith?
Chorus: There’s a storm coming in tonight / So, keep the light burning bright / The clouds are gathering over the sea / This storm is heading straight for me
If my body’s a prison / With no escape / Should I beg the gods to lend me their grace? / I’ve looked into the eyes of despair / And I tell you my darling / There’s nothing there
Chorus: There’s a storm coming in tonight / So, keep the light burning bright / The clouds are gathering over the sea / This storm is heading straight for me
When I wake / When the sky is clear / Will I be fallen and broken / Like that tree over there? / And will all the songbirds have flown away / Or will those songbirds be here to stay?
Chorus: There’s a storm coming in tonight / So, keep the light burning bright / The clouds are gathering over the sea / This storm is heading straight for me
If I feel the spring sunshine on my skin / May I find the courage to begin again / ‘Cause I’m through with the pain / And I’m through with the crying / And I’m done, I’m truly done / With the fear of dying
Chorus: There’s a storm coming in tonight / So, keep the light burning bright / The clouds are gathering over the sea / This storm is heading straight for me
Lyrics © Abigail Hopkins 2025
Abigail continues, “I was worried that I would not be able to play the guitar again, but due to the expert care I received, and after practise, I can play the guitar almost to the same standard as before. My voice was also affected, so I chose to utilise the situation and on some tracks, I projected my voice with a deliberately husky performance, as I think this lends feeling to the vulnerable tone of the album. In the same sense, I made the tracks autobiographical, charting my journey.”
The thrill of making music, for Abigail Hopkins, is in the sheer fascination of experimenting with sound, and weaving lyrics into a tapestry of sonic landscapes, often left-field but built on classical, jazz, folk and rock foundations. She believes a song is very much a story set to music, with both lyrics and melody playing equally important parts. And this is true of Stardust.
Storm sees the flame rekindled from out of a very tough place. “One of the major things that cancer has taught me, is that we are all connected to everything and to each other. I was inspired by the words of the astrophysicist Brian Cox when he said we all come from stardust. Facing death has made me appreciate the small things in life and see the beauty inherent in everything.”
Abigail talks about the Storm video:
“The video for Storm compares the emotional trauma of receiving a cancer diagnosis, and the difficult journey I found myself on, with a storm at sea. The candle flame represents the need for light and love during incredibly dark and despairing times, particularly going through cancer during the Covid pandemic – these were dark times for us all - and also my own possible demise, my life and death hanging in the balance.
The shot where the sea appears to be vertical symbolises the ‘unnaturalness’ of cancer. I wanted to express some of my feelings of being overwhelmed and disorientated. I’ve filmed myself as I am, and not made the footage pretty or softened, adorned or sentimentalised. Likewise I’ve kept the raw broken quality in my vocals, because this is my ‘authenticity’ and I hope the video’s aesthetic matches.
The video begins in black and white to reflect my despair, but gradually evolves into brighter colours with the ‘sunshine on my skin’. I considered singing in the video, but I decided not to do this, and instead just allow the camera to record my thought processes. The line ‘Will all the songbirds have flown away or will those songbirds be here to stay?’ alludes to the possibility that I might not survive.
The verses ask questions. At the beginning of the song, my sense of self, and faith in a compassionate universe is tested to breaking point. Where should I find answers? I conclude on an upbeat note. If I survive cancer, I will ‘find the courage to begin again’, have the courage to write songs and make music again and find some light in the darkness and share what I’ve learned, hopefully to help others.
Many shots include wildlife, the natural world, and there’s a happy dog - he is not mine by the way - because as well as making music and films/videos, I find great comfort in photographing nature and spending time in nature. I find great solace there and connect with my heart. Animals, birds, the sea, have a kind of innocence, purity and honesty that I think it’s very easy to lose touch with in ourselves in the modern world.
Hope is kept alive and at the end I run into the sunlight towards and from the signpost pointing in three directions, a sign that I can choose which path I take and all paths are equally valid.”
Abigail Hopkins began her working life as an actress, a career she maintains, along with being an acting coach and occasional theatre director. She has appeared in the films Shadowlands, Remains of The Day, A Few Selected Exits, the docudrama Elizabeth, and she starred in Homo Geminus, a psychological thriller, for which she also provided the music. And has played a variety of roles in theatre.
Abigail has also made a short documentary Under This Sky, which is currently being submitted to film festivals worldwide. Abigail intends to utilise Stardust and Storm and Under This Sky for awareness-raising. “For example, I’d like to screen Under This Sky in cinemas if possible to raise funds for charity, with possible Q & A sessions after the viewing,” she says. And Abigail is developing further plans for campaigning. “I’d like to raise awareness, provide some comfort to those going through a similar situation and campaign to get the age of testing for bowel cancer lowered in the UK,” she adds.
The Stardust album will be released to coincide with Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (April 2025).
Proceeds from sales and streams of Storm and Stardust will go to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Credits for Storm:
- Written, composed and produced by Abigail Hopkins
- Vocals, instruments and programming by Abigail Hopkins
- Mixed by Abigail Hopkins
- Mastered by John Winfield
- Thanks to family and friends, the NHS and The Royal Marsden Hospital
connect.delta-pr.com Abigail Hopkins - Album & Single Release Details
- Single/video: Abigail Hopkins - Storm
- Single release date: 28th February 2025
- Album: Abigail Hopkins — Stardust
- Album release date: 4th April 2025
- Label: Tiny Fragile Records