Last November, Warwick student Ire Albert stepped out as an arranger and recording artist with a mass choir reimagining of Rachel Kerr’s ‘Glory’, recorded with Warwick Gospel Choir at the Warwick Arts Centre Studio. It was a full-circle moment, a song that once moved him from the pews reborn through his own direction.

Less than a year later, he is back with something much bigger. “One Accord” is a 7-track EP of original songs featuring more than 50 vocalists. Where ‘Glory‘ was about honouring a song that shaped him, “One Accord” is about saying something of his own.

A Lens, Not a Genre
The seed for the EP was planted in May 2025, while the ‘Glory’ sessions were still underway. That month Ire wrote two songs, ‘Your Name’ and ‘Blessing on The Way’, that sounded nothing alike. Rather than choosing between them, he leaned into the contrast. Choir music is often treated as one fixed sound, but Ire began to see it differently, as a lens that could be pointed at any kind of song to reveal something new. Every track on “One Accord” tests that idea from a different angle.

Songs from a Hard Season
He wrote much of the EP over the summer of 2025 before leaving for his year abroad in Germany. While ‘Glory’ was being released back home, Ire was going through one of the hardest periods of his life. His time in Germany took a real toll on his mental health, and for much of it he was not in a good place. Instead of putting the music aside, he turned to it. Two songs on the EP were born directly out of that season, ‘Home’ and ‘Don’t Underestimate God’. Both were written in Germany, and both capture someone holding on to faith at a time when it would have been easier to let go.

Fifty Voices, One at a Time
Ire returned to the UK in April 2026 and went straight into recording. With ‘Glory’ he had a full choir in one room. This time that wasn’t possible. With more than 50 singers involved and schedules that would never line up, he chose to record every vocalist individually and build the instrumentals instrument by instrument. For five months he booked sessions around lectures and everyone else’s commitments, placing each voice by hand until a full choir took shape. It was gruelling work, but it changed how he makes music. Every singer was heard on their own before becoming part of the whole, and the result is a record that sounds vast while still feeling personal.

In July 2026, Ire released ‘Your Name’ as the lead single, giving listeners their first taste of the new direction. Just days after its release, the song was performed at House On The Rock London, the same church where hearing Rachel Kerr sing “Glory” first awakened his calling to music. The place that once inspired him was now singing his own song back. ‘Your Name’ was where the conception for “One Accord” began, and the first sign that Ire had stepped beyond arranging into writing and producing.

Growth You Can Hear
Put side by side, the journey is clear. ‘Glory’ introduced Ire as an arranger bringing a much-loved song to life with the choir he led. “One Accord” introduces him as a writer, producer and curator of a community, uniting singers and musicians from across the UK around songs he wrote himself. In the space of a year he has gone from directing one choir to building one from the ground up.

“By usual logic this project shouldn’t have been possible for a uni student,” says Ire. “But I’m incredibly blessed to have a huge community of singers and instrumentalists behind me. ‘Glory’ was me honouring a song that changed my life. One Accord is me finally telling my own story, and all glory to God.”

“One Accord” is out now on all platforms. Follow Ire Albert on Instagram at @mrirealbert.