Two EPs followed, before the release of their debut album, 2022’s Superhuman, which went to number one on the UK’s Official Jazz and Blues Album Chart twice, and won UK Album of the Year at the 2023 Americana Awards. Their second album Otherness, although it was released in 2024, was finished by the time they were touring Superhuman. The final date of their tour was a trip to Americanafest to set things up ahead of their next steps. “The whole plan, the reason why we were out in Nashville, was because we had this new album,” says Ferris. “Our first album came out, it was doing really well. We did Glastonbury. We did this big festival season which ended in Nashville. And we were like, ‘Look guys, Americanafest. We’ve got this new record. Here we go.’”
Of course, things didn’t go to plan, and their four day trip became a two-month long ordeal. “Issy had had a perfect pregnancy. We’d had a good summer doing festivals and touring and she’d felt great. She was chilled and enjoying being pregnant which was so magical,” says Sylvester. “We were so naive and this didn’t even cross our minds that something could go wrong. We’re just in this bubble of just la di dah everything’s gonna be great.”
The couple were due in November and Americanafest was taking place early September. Ferris was cleared by her doctors and the airline to fly and they didn’t think more about it. “The midwives had checked her over. She’d had her blood pressure done. All fine. Then 3 days in, Issy got very, very poorly overnight, suddenly really ill,” says Sylvester. “We went to hospital the next morning and Issy’s saying, ‘I think I’ve just got food poisoning or something,’ and the doctor’s saying, “Hang on, your blood pressure is through the roof.’”
Ferris was quickly diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and pancreatitis. “It was honestly the biggest shock of both of our lives. Our son’s four, and the shock of it is still there,” she says.
Recounting the story now, you can feel the stress and bewilderment with which they both speak. “Issy was deteriorating very quickly and she was starting to seize. If that happens you have to get the baby out within a very, very fast period of time or the baby’s going to die,” says Sylvester. “Suddenly, I’m realising this is really serious. They managed to stabilise Issy with magnesium enough for the doctor to be able to say, ‘You are not going anywhere. You’re not going on your flight home. Your child’s going to be born in America and this is really serious. Your organs are failing, your kidneys are not working.’ I’m going, ‘Are they both going to survive? Is one of them going to survive?’ That was a huge shock.”
Ferris was transferred to a nearby hospital with a specialised NICU while they waited to see what would happen next. She gave birth to her son a couple of days later, seven weeks premature. “Obviously I feel like I carry a lot of weight and shame around going to America. But at the same time my advice to any other pregnant person would never be not to, because I do think that the chances of this happening are so small,” she says. “Obviously go get yourselves checked out, but if you’re feeling well, pregnancy is such a special time and it shouldn’t be sort of darkened by worry. It’s hard because I’m fully aware of what we went through, but at the same time, my message to other people wouldn’t be one of fear. I wouldn’t want to put that out there.”
