Cradle is a time capsule of a selection of music crafted by Starling Arrow, an all-star cast of spirit-folk songstresses featuring Leah Song and Chloe Smith of Rising Appalachia, Tina Malia, Ayla Nereo, and Marya Stark.

The collective wrote countless songs over nearly 2 years of weekly communing and creating during the pandemic. Deep in their own creative exploration, the 5 muses chose to keep the music to themselves. But the universe had other plans. And thanks to a spontaneous meetup in person, the desire to sing together, and Tina Malia bringing some mics at the last minute, an album began to record itself. And these songs are what fed the creation of Cradle, to be shared February 16, 2023.

The album includes 2 original songs from each artist, all layered in gorgeous 5 part harmonies, with all 5 singing on each other’s compositions. The songs range in topic and style, documenting the story of a shared human experience, colored by the backdrop of such unique history in the making. It is an album to soothe the body and mind, lullabies for the child in all of us. In addition to 10 original songs, the mostly acoustic album includes 1 traditional lullaby and an improvisational hum track. Produced and engineered by Tina Malia in both Nevada City, California and Asheville, North Carolina, Cradle is a musical offering of nourishment, melodies for restoration, healing for the pandemic weary soul.

The group name, Starling Arrow was born after learning more about the starling, an iridescent songbird known for its cooperation with its fellow birds to create beautiful murmuration patterns in the sky. Arrow speaks to the aim all 5 artists have together as songbirds, to create a song from collaborative inspiration and have it land in a place of unique beauty. Starling Arrow is meant to convey “The song sent with aim from the bow of the muse."