THREE-TIME BBC Radio 2 playlisted singer-songwriter Callaghan promotes her latest EP, Skin On Skin, on her return to The Basement, City Screen, York, on April 22.

She is undertaking her biggest British tour so far – ten shows in April – in a year when she is recording in Los Angeles with producer Anthony Resta, whose credits include Elton John, Blondie and Duran Duran.

Skin On Skin is the second in a series of three EPs made over the course of a year in LA, this one co-produced by Resta and husband/wife production team Jeff Fair and Starr Parodi, who have worked on scores for Harry Potter, James Bond and Mission Impossible films.

The songs were all written or co-written by Callaghan, who teamed up with such writing partners as Jeff Silbar, one of the writers of the Bette Midler hit The Wind Beneath My Wings.

The EP captures both Callaghan’s unease that politics and technology are dividing us from one another and her hope and conviction that love and the human spirit will overcome. Lead track Better Together is an uplifting, positive love song that celebrates unity; title track Skin On Skin urges face-to-face contact rather than living life through a screen; Broken was written at the end of 2016 as a heartfelt reaction to British and American politics and All Through The Night is a lullaby from a parent to a child.

York Press:

"I hope these songs will resonate with people’s own experiences," says Callaghan. Picture: Scott Lowden

The Los Angeles recordings mark an evolution in Callaghan’s sound as she moves in a pop direction while maintaining the honest emotions of the singer-songwriter. Breaking new ground for her, she uses a horn section on Better Together and a 30-piece orchestra on Broken and All Through The Night, led by British conductor Nicholas Dodd, who has conducted every James Bond film score since 1997. The session was recorded in the evening in Budapest as Callaghan watched remotely via Skype on a sunny Michigan morning while on tour.

Originally from Lincolnshire, Callaghan first moved to the United States in 2010 after striking up a musical collaboration with Atlanta musician and Grammy nominee Shawn Mullins via Myspace. Her singles Best Year, We Don't Have To Change The World and Last Song have all had BBC Radio 2 airplay, and she now performs on the main stage at such British events as C2C Festival, Celtic Connection, the Secret Garden Party and Cambridge Folk Festival.

Her spring tour will find her playing songs from last June's EP, The Other Side, and Skin On Skin, as well as previewing material from the final EP in the trilogy, set for summer release. Songs from her 2015 album A History Of Now, recorded in Nashville, will be aired too.

"I can’t wait to hit the road for my UK tour," says Callaghan, whose travels begin Liverpool on Tuesday. "It’s been amazing to get to know LA and work with accomplished writers and producers on the West Coast. I write based on what I see and experience and the stories people tell me. I hope these songs will resonate with people’s own experiences, hopes and emotions and I’m excited to play them live across the UK."

She will be supported by Jesse Terry at her 8pm York gig promoted by Under The Influence. Tickets cost £12 at thebasementyork.co.uk/callaghan or on the door.