PRESS RELEASE

RAVEN releasing February 13 2026

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Paths Crossing, the London based composer duo of award winning musicians, Esbe and Peter Michaels, create the soundtrack for RAVEN. The eleven track album is a poignant work of sweeping cinematic musicality and beautiful and tender songs.

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Paths Crossing began writing music to accompany scenes for a film they devised as a way to explore their creative synergy. The resulting soundtrack follows in the footsteps of Ennio Morricone whose music inspired the scenes and performances in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, as Raven is now in pitch development.

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Raven takes the story of one of the earliest cases of identity theft, that of Martin Guerre, a French 16th century peasant who disappeared from his village only to be replaced by an impostor who lived with his wife, Raven, and child for three years. When the real Martin Guerre eventually returned, the imposter was exposed and executed. Paths Crossing relocated the story to 1801, as English soldiers are being sent to fight the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt.

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The film is told from Raven's perspective. As its heroine and central protagonist, her character explores the full range of emotions which both challenge and celebrate the female lead. The soundtrack reflects this with a combination of widescreen orchestration, intimate ballads and the soaring vocals for which Esbe is renowned. The diverse and evocative soundscapes span an English rural village, Revolutionary France, Ottoman Egypt and the high seas between.

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Esbe and Peter Michaels are both classically trained musicians with Eastern and Southern European heritage. Experienced in working with musicians and compositional traditions from around the world, RAVEN provided the ideal opportunity to showcase their shared musical insight and complementary talents, resulting in a globally rich musical tapestry.

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Emotionally charged wordless vocals add to the intensity on the grandly orchestrated tracks, “Arrival” (trk 5), “Raven's Theme” (trk 1) and “Rising From The Mist” (trk 9), which paints a picture of the aftermath of battle. Raven’s theme is reprised for her imagined death on the poignant, “Raven – Lay Me To Rest” (trk 10), the melancholy coupled with uplifting crescendos to reflect Raven’s resilience and optimism.

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Two intimate ballads invite the listener into Raven's very personal contemplation - “Raining Down” (trk 3), which she hears when pining alone for Martin, and “Lullaby” (trk 8), as she cradles her newly born baby who Martin has yet to meet.

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On “Three Pilgrims” (trk 6) Esbe multi-tracks her voice with Eastern European close harmonies. Coupled with Peter Michaels’ sparse, haunting piano, the music represents the three mysterious figures who tend Martin's post battle wounds.

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There are two versions of “Follow The River”. The first (trk 11), with Esbe's vocal accompanied by Peter Michaels on fretless bass, sets the scene as Raven yearns for her husband to return home after his long absence. She resolves to leave her village, a place full of lies, and travel night and day, down river to find the ship he will hopefully be returning on.

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“Follow The River – Credit Sequence” (trk 2), designed for the film's credit roll, is the album’s single, released 30 Jan 2026. Paying homage to The Cocteau Twins, this atmospheric track is Raven’s lament.

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“Unspoken words remain unheard until we meet,
I will run to you, my silent heart to be complete.” (Lyrics, “Follow The River”)

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Raven is the fictionalised name of Bertrande de Rols, wife of Martin Guerre, a woman defined by her resilience. Historians remain divided on her role and it is within this silence that RAVEN speaks. The raven, often reduced to just its harsh call, is the world’s largest songbird and capable of remarkable vocal depth and variety. This paradox mirrors the heroine at the heart of the album. RAVEN gives not only voice, but her song.