Igloo Hearts are James and Katie MacGregor, a married folk-pop duo from North Wales. For our next AUK mini-gig, they kindly agreed to share some of their latest songs with our readers and viewers. Since appearing on our radar last year in this interview, they have made a proper first album following a series of singles and an EP. “We made the record the way we play best – together, in the same space, feeling every note in real time. We wanted to capture the electricity of live performance: the breath between words, the imperfections that make a song human, and the unspoken conversation between two musicians who know each other inside out.”
To the MacGregors, the album felt like it was a lifetime in the making. They have crafted music that is cinematic, emotionally raw, and rich in harmony. Their songs convey a sense of open space rather than always rushing forward, with silences lingering between phrases, such as even a gale-force wind would be wearing moccasins. “In an age where so much is polished, programmed, and generated, we wanted to create something you can feel: real voices, real instruments, and the energy of the room. The songs are steeped in the passage of time, love, loss and the quiet truth that much of life is out of our control.”
Katie is a classically trained pianist who earned distinction in her Grade 8 and was featured on Channel 4’s The Piano. James started out as a solo roots artist who supported the likes of Oysterband and Nick Harper. When they met at an open mic, they discovered not just love, but an uncanny vocal blend that audiences now describe as “like one voice in two bodies.” Their music has been described as “goosebump-inducing,” “sonic poetry,” and “a masterclass in harmony.” Whether performing at the Liverpool Philharmonic, Café #9, Green Note London, or St Giles’ Church (one of the Seven Wonders of Wales), they offer an immersive, deeply moving experience.
They write songs like a promise they are bound to keep. The first one is called Bodyclock, and is the opening track on their Eyes Closed Against the Sun album, which came out at the tail end of 2025 and is available on Bandcamp. Essentially, it’s about the married couple’s journey with IVF, trying to conceive a baby. “I won’t be young for long, we’re running out of time, my body clock is ticking, so say what’s on your mind”.
Katie admits the couple has a Netflix subscription and likes to watch shows about serial killers, murderers and rapists. Who would have guessed they write songs about such characters? Teddy tells the tale of a fellow who meets a lady, who persuades him to run away with her. She also persuades him to steal his mother’s jewels. And it gets worse. He murders his mother and meets a very grisly end.
When they met, the couple didn’t exactly have a match in terms of musical tastes. Katie preferred artists like Rufus Wainwright, and James leaned more towards americana. But couples typically find things that bring them together, and musically, this turned out to be Radiohead. Their final song of the mini-gig is what they call a “folk/americana version” of Creep.
We hope Igloo Hearts has picked the lock of your imagination. Please check out their website and the usual social media haunts for further news and information.
