Kate Crudgington – Page 137

WATCH: J. Zunz – ‘Four Women and Darkness’

Dense beats and jagged electronics combine on ‘Four Women and Darkness’, the latest single from Mexico based musician J. Zunz (aka Lorena Quintanilla). Lifted from her second album Hibiscus, the track is a haunting, minimalist interpretation of an unnerving story Quintanilla was told by her grandmother and is accompanied by a visual piece that aims to reflect the jarring nature of the tale.

“[My grandmother] told me that once during wartime in México in the late 1920’s, she and her sisters were hidden by her grandmother in a little, cold secret room,” Quintanilla explains. “She hid them there because the militia wanted to search the house. Soldiers used to look for women or girls to rape them or to kidnap them. My grandmother and her sisters stayed there in the dark room for hours until the soldiers left.”

‘Four Women and Darkness’ is Quintanilla’s addition to her grandmother’s frightening narrative, and the video for the track explores the ambiguous theme of darkness further. “I asked four close friends of mine to express their own darkness,” Quintanilla comments. “They all come from different cities and backgrounds. I instructed them with some movements remarking and reassuring the limits of our bodies, which for years have belonged to everyone but us.”

Watch the video for ‘Four Women and Darkness’ below and follow J. Zunz on bandcamp for more updates.

Photo Credit: Sofía Ruesga

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

August 16, 2020August 28, 2020

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

WATCH: CIEL – ‘The Shore’ (Live Session)

To celebrate the physical release of their debut EP Movement on 7″ vinyl, Brighton-based CIEL have shared a live video of their single ‘The Shore’. Released via Manchester label Box Bedroom Rebels, the alt-pop band have included a bonus track on the EP titled ‘Wasn’t Enough For Me’, written and recorded by the band while in isolation.

Formed of Dutch musician Michelle Hindriks and the friends she made when she relocated to Brighton, CIEL enlisted the help of Producer Jack Wolter (Penelope Isles) to help them create the atmospheric sounds on their debut EP. Lead single ‘The Shore’ is a dreamy rumination about seizing the moment and not letting life pass you by, with Hindriks’ pensive vocals floating above beguiling guitars, snappy beats and blissed out synths, reflecting the waves of thought she sings about.

The Movement EP comes in a double sided sleeve, one of six different designs, with a gate-fold insert, one of ten numbered Polaroid photos, a CIEL postcard, sticker set, personalised confetti and a small signed A5 poster. You can order your copy here.

Watch the live video for ‘The Shore’ below and follow CIEL on Facebook and Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Jantina Talsma

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

August 15, 2020November 16, 2020

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

LISTEN: New Pagans – ‘Yellow Room’

A racing, urgent exploration of the isolation new mothers often face, Belfast band New Pagans have shared their latest single ‘Yellow Room’. Inspired by the semi-autobiographical short-story The Yellow Wallpaper, written by American feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the band have penned the track to highlight the need for a specialised parent-and-baby mental health unit in Northern Ireland.

After watching her close friends struggle with post-natal depression, New Pagans’ vocalist Lyndsey McDougall decided to speak out about the silencing of motherhood, especially in music. McDougall saw parallels between the experiences of her friends and the character in Gilmans’ original story, in which the mental health of the female protagonist deteriorates rapidly when she is separated from her normal life, locked in an old nursery room by her physician husband. Through the medium of Gilmans’ text, McDougall channels these feelings of fear and rage in her clear, cathartic vocals, supported by the band’s crashing percussion and charged, powerful riffs.

Being a Mother herself, McDougall is aware of the pressures that come with the role, and whilst she is not solely defined by these responsibilities, she feels they shouldn’t be ignored or played down. By using personal experience and Gilmans’ text as foundations for ‘Yellow Room’, New Pagans are challenging and updating the narrative around women’s mental health, and they’ve crafted a catchy, energetic post-punk tune in the process.

Listen to ‘Yellow Room’ below and follow New Pagans on bandcamp, Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

August 14, 2020August 15, 2020

Kate Crudgington1 Comment

Track Of The Day: Aphty Khéa – ‘Alerta’

An unflinching, powerful stand against the police brutality in her homeland of Greece, Aphty Khéa has shared her new single ‘Alerta’. Accompanied by a self-edited visual piece, the track blends frantic vocal samples recorded in anti-fascist protests and relentless beats to raise the alarm and shout back against the state’s abuse of power.

Currently based in Kreuzberg in Berlin, Aphty Khéa is a half Greek, half British artist who combines sonic and visual elements to create her stimulating, exciting electronic music. On ‘Alerta’ she uses traditional tsifteteli (τσιφτετέλι) rhythms, which are a part of the broader rebetiko (ρεμπέτικο) Greek music subculture, known for its anti-authoritarian history. Her mixing of the old and the new is what makes the single and accompanying video so poignant.

All the Bandcamp proceeds from the track will be donated to the Legal Aid Team, a solidarity initiative of pro-bono activist lawyers based in Athens who take on the court cases of detained protesters and victims of police repression. Watch the video for ‘Alerta’ below.