UK’s leading Choir for Refugees and Allies releases debut album Echo of Your Voice

26 November 2025 - Press release

 

• Echo of Your Voice - a 10-track album bursting with hope and joy - is available for pre-save from Wednesday 26th November, 2025

 

Celebrating the rich diversity and wonderful community of this never more relevant choir, the Citizens of the World Choir’s debut album will be released on Thursday 4th December, 2025. The album stands as a beacon of hope and truth in our troubled world. 

The choir represents heritage and humanity from over 28 countries, with half of the members having experienced leaving home to seek safety in the UK. Its values of compassion, strength and unity are resonating with the pulse of leading artists, thinkers and creatives: from providing backing vocals for two of Ed Sheeran’s recent global hits - Azizam and Sapphire - to opening the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2025. 

This unique and eclectic album tracks the choir's journey of 8 years bringing together a rich blend of voices from across the globe. Through playful, sincere musical exploration, the album shares heartfelt stories of migration, of overcoming adversity and of the value of friendship and fun. From the new track We Will Sing - the driving, samba-based dance anthem, written for the choir by Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton and featuring legendary vocalist Vula Malinga - to the lyrical ‘power ballad turned choral blessing’ Lullabies, the world’s first Welsh and Yoruba co-composed song that reflects on the strength people draw from their homeland. 

Felix Buxton said: ‘Introducing the Citizens of the World Choir as they opened for the Basement Jaxx Crystal Bowl shows this summer filled me with joy. It’s amazing how when we start singing together all of our hearts start to align and beat in time. This choir is a positive emblem of the hope we can find together within humanity. It’s been a complete joy working with them and a great challenge to create a song for them of meaning and integrity, that feels life affirming and fun. I think we did it… it’s like a modern-day hymn, an anthem.’

CEO and Conductor, Becky Dell FRSA, said: ‘Our choir’s purpose is to celebrate the artistry, heritage and humanity of people seeking sanctuary and their allies. We’ve poured so much  energy and heart into creating this album. The process has held creative space for so many contributors. Musicians Mehmet and Kadir returned to record Çayir Çimen, taking us back to our very first appearance at Glastonbury in 2022. A group of incredible young vocalists from music charity Fairbeats! came to Miloco Studios to record for We Will Sing. Resident photographer Aref Hussaini’s urban street imagery inspired Meg Ella’s delicately designed collage-based album cover artwork, which itself speaks volumes about the connections we make through art and song. All pieces of a very precious puzzle.

‘We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together so far. Echo of Your Voice feels like a musical journal of our journey so far. I know it means the world to everyone involved that our voices - expressing a shared desire for a world full of peace and joy - are heard far and wide.’

Annie Kyr, who solos on the choir’s arrangement of Ukrainian folk song Schedryk, said:   
‘I was so excited to record the album. We were recording in three different studios on three days -  a pleasure and also quite hard work. Recording is very different from performing because you don't have an audience, but still need to bring all the energy. I was honoured to sing a solo on our version of one of the most well-known Ukrainian music pieces. I am so proud it is on the choir's album, and lots of people will listen to it.’

The power of this album is the breadth of its diverse collaboration and depth of creative sincerity. It platforms the work of emerging artists, such as the choir’s poet in residence E.E. and spoken word artist Fatima, alongside some of the UK’s most talented musicians, composers, arrangers and producers, including Citizens of the World co-founders Tom Donald and Meg Ella Brookes, as well as Barny Jones, Àánú Sodipe, Aga Serugo-Lugo and benjamen leigh-grosart. 

Creative Director, Meg Ella, said: ‘This album is a unique and special musical patchwork, sewing together all of the people, reflections, relationships and experiences that have contributed to bringing each song to life. We are sharing this work to honour all the individuals who make Citizens of the World what it is, whilst simultaneously celebrating the joy and strength of our collective creativity. Listening takes you on a journey through the twists and turns of the creative landscape that the team and choir members are constantly building and reimagining.’