Track Of The Day: Lande Hekt – ‘The Future’

If you’re looking for a tonic to ease your anxiety about the current state our society, we recommend you listen to Lande Hekt‘s latest single ‘The Future’. Whilst it doesn’t ignore the bleak prospects that a Tory government and a climate crisis have thrust upon us, it does remind us to take a minute to remember you can do something to tackle it.

Best known as the vocalist and guitarist for Exeter indie punk band Muncie Girls, Lande is now focusing her energy on her solo work, and is set to release her debut EP Gigantic Disappointment on the 15th of November. It’s filled with catchy, defiant guitar anthems that showcase a (slightly) softer side to Lande’s music.

Speaking about her new song, Lande explains: “‘The Future’ is about getting older, trying to exist in a truly horrible world and trying to be a good person (and often not succeeding). It’s an homage to my friend who taught me that you can’t ignore environmental issues and showed me how scary it all is. We’re all running out of time.”

With the aid of Lande’s clear vocals and rolling guitar rhythms, hopefully listeners will be motivated in to thinking about the kind of future they want to be a part of, and actively work towards making it a good one. Listen to the new track below, and follow Lande on Facebook for more updates.

Lande Hekt 2019 UK Tour Dates
Sunday, 6th Oct – Exeter, The Cavern (with Cheerbleederz)
Monday, 18th Nov – Bristol, The Exchange (with Soot Sprite)
Tuesday, 19th Nov – Exeter, The Cavern (with Soot Sprite)
Wednesday, 20th Nov – Southampton, The Hobbit (with Soot Sprite)
Thursday, 21st Nov – Brighton, Rossi Bar (with Soot Sprite)
Friday, 22nd Nov – London, Sister Midnight

Photo Credit: @gingerdope

Kate Crudgington
@kcbobcut

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LIVE: Lingua Ignota – Oslo, London 30.11.19

Catharsis incarnate: Lingua Ignota‘s sold out show at Hackney’s Oslo on Monday night was a vicious, vulnerable affair. The industrial multi-instrumentalist’s hair-raising vocal range and dramatic performance style held her crowd in captivated silence as she used her pitch perfect voice to sing songs about vengeance and violence.

With a set-list formed primarily of new material from her recent album Caligula, Lingua Ignota aka Kristin Hayter used minimal, effective lighting to help deliver her brutal truths. Sometimes screened by a translucent plastic sheet at the back of the stage, sometimes strung up by her own hand with the wires from her lights – Hayter mastered the art of appearing calm as she intermittently screamed her lungs out. Whilst all of the songs performed were worthy of merit, her rendition of ‘Do You Doubt Me Traitor’ cut the deepest. It’s a powerful, vilifying song designed to unsettle and ignite fury and Hayter used her operatic voice as a weapon to do just that.

Like an Anglerfish that dwells in dark waters attracting its prey with a dazzling light, Hayter used her portable spotlight to lure and illuminate her audience when she broke the fourth wall. The crowd obediently flocked towards her wielding their smart phones (naturally desperate to document the moment), but as with all live music, it’s best appreciated without the shield of a screen. Hayter’s fearless taking up of other people’s space perfectly accompanies her cutting lyrics about taking down those who deny her self-autonomy.

A survivor of abuse and industry misogyny (read her interview with The Guardian here), Hayter has defiantly risen from the ashes in Phoenix-like fashion, and her live performance was proof of this. Her interrogative spotlight is not easy to escape and her powerful voice is impossible to ignore.

Kate Crudgington
@kcbobcut

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Track Of The Day: Cuntrie – ‘The Singer’

Lo-fi beats and lush, longing vocals blend together on ‘The Singer’, the debut single from Cuntrie (aka Ebba Gustafsson Ågren). Ebba is best known for fronting Swedish duo Wy, but under her new moniker she’s exploring different, more personal themes.

Accompanied by a self-directed video, ‘The Singer’ sees Ebba open up to knowing more about herself, and her subject matter. Her intimate lyrics and clear vocal delivery sit comfortably over the visuals of her filming herself, singing in to a variation of mirrors.

Speaking about her new music as Cuntrie, Ebba explains: “A solo project allows me to write about things I never felt fit into what we’re doing with Wy, things like my childhood. I feel like I can experiment a lot more with the themes of the songs. “I’ve wanted to challenge myself in terms of producing and writing for a while now, and this is the result of that.”

We’re definitely on board with Ebba’s new sound. Listen to ‘The Singer’ below and follow Cuntrie on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@kcbobcut

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Wallis Bird

Having just released her sixth album Woman via Mount Silver Records/Caroline International, modern folk singer Wallis Bird seems to be in a good place. The Irish songwriter uses her music to speak out against injustice, writing in a confessional style and blurring the lines between the genres of modern folk, roots and soul.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Wallis to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced her song writing techniques. Check out her choices below, and scroll down to watch her video for ‘As The River Flows’ at the end of this post.

 

1. Ani DiFranco – Living in Clip
Changed my life. I was 11, was really growing into my skin on the guitar and my lyrics, I was finding out who I was and Ani burst down my doors. She was a queer feminist in defiance of bureaucracy and sexism and it was so fresh and out of this world to me, I found my back straighten and my eyes clear. It was a turning point. They way she pounded the guitar as if it was a weapon, the depth of chord structure, the prolific output, the badass necessity for creativity – no one like her then nor now.

2. Björk – Vespertine
Björk married Avantgarde with pop and classical in this ethereal, emotional warm embrace of a record. It’s an absolute timeless classic where electronic and traditional instrumentation move horizontally across space and time, and she dances the linear by diving deep into langerous pregnant pauses, long sensual outros of choirs with purist choral, Icelandic landscape escapism… I visualise deeply when I put this record on. Lyrically she discovers a new side to her sex, which she describes it in a detailed, curious, positive and private way – celebrating vulnerability, dreams, intimacy, secrecy and this fragile flesh we’re all in.

3. There Magic Lantern – A World in a Grain of sand
I’ve listened to this record more than any other record I think. Possibly over 200 times. The emotive dynamic, the positive message tinged with some kind of despair. The musicianship, the instrumentation. It moves from English folk to exotic afrobeat to modern NY jazz. It sounds open, wide and luxuriously recorded, giving so much breathing space that the listener feels freed and cosy and listened to. I adore the clever drum timing, the breathy wind instruments and Jamie Doe’s unique vocal style and gently powerful lyricism. This album is a friend of mine.

4. Sam Vance Law – Homotopia
Sam is a friend of mine, but before I knew him I was a fan of his music. We played in the band together and I basically stole him so that I could spend time with the person who wrote what I consider an iconic modern pop record. He tells tales, long and short about narcism, sexual adventures and misadventures, coming out, social suicide, staying in the closet, faking a happy marriage, all wrapped in orchestral instrumentation, sometimes punk, sometimes indie pop, ambling bridges, satirical and snide lyrics, true love, true confusion in youth, pure dreams, mature and clever and unforgettable. Vidal Gore meets The Cure. An album like no other.

5. The Prodigy – Music For a Jilted Generation
My first foray into how beautiful and merciful getting fucked up and dancing your pain away can be. It is wild, concentrated progressive passionate hard and heavy and fucking fantastic dance music. My sister played loads of these tracks at her wedding and all the siblings just broke the dance floor open! it was a real source of relief for us as a family. If we were pent up, if we needed to wind down, this album always did the job for us, when it was playing you left each other alone and everything was all ok afterwards!

Thanks to Wallis for sharing her favourites with us. Follow her on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Jens Oellermann

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