What a treat we have in store for you here today, via our latest premiere! I signed up for this one when I read that the act were ‘legends of drone/doom/ambient’, but listening to the track, it was the furthest from ambient that I have listened to this year (in a good way). The band in question are Nadja, the pairing of Leah Buckareff and Aidan Baker, with an extensive back catalogue covering and merging the three areas mentioned above. Originally from Toronto, Canada, but residing in Berlin for the last decade, the duo have become synonymous with releases via underground labels such as Alien8 Recordings and Robotic Empire to name but two. With their own label, Broken Spine, now established, Nadja are looking forward to their first self-released physical album (a little more on that in a bit), and we are delighted to have a sneak peek of some new material right here today at Everything Is Noise.
“Necroausterity” is an absolute beast of a track that is fairly hard to describe. A mix of unsettling clangs and percussion accompany an intense vocal performance from Full Of Hell‘s Dylan Walker, initially with limited musical backing. Nadja expertly increase the dynamic and intensity of the instrumental aspects of the track underneath Walker’s pained screams, building tension with dirty synths and ever-changing percussion/drum machines. To try and put into words what you hear here is difficult, perhaps the best way to describe the track is as an experience. This becomes even more the case when you realise the piece is based on the Buddhist practice of extreme asceticism, namely sokushinbutsu. My knowledge is limited to what I have learned in the past couple of hours, but I would highly recommend reading about the practice whilst listening to the track for full effect.
Surprisingly, considering that the video above clocks in at just over 7 minutes, this is an edited version of “Necroausterity”, with the full version to be made available later this year. Today’s premiere is also accompanied by the exciting news that Nadja will release their new album Labyrinthine on September 6th of this year, with pre-orders opening towards the end of next month. A four-track album, Labyrinthine will feature the full cut of “Necroausterity” where you can enjoy it in its full eighteen minutes of glory.
If, like me, this is your first introduction to the sounds of Nadja, make sure to check out the band on Bandcamp and a range of other online spots as found on their Linktree (which will include the option to pre-order Labyrinthine as mentioned earlier, come the end of July). There is plenty of music there to digest, I recommend starting with The Stone Is Not Hit By The Sun, Nor Carved With A Knife – whilst I still have a lot of Nadja homework to do this stood out immediately as a gripping piece of work. Additionally, if you want to experience the (presumably intense) live Nadja experience, you can catch them at a range of dates across the EU and UK this summer and beyond:
07 July – Audio, Glasgow, UK *
08 July – Gorilla, Manchester, UK
09 July – Supersonic Festival, Birmingham, UK *
10 July – The Lexington, London, UK *
5 Aug – Vriompeis Festival, Oslo, NO
02 Sept – Intersections Festival, Toronto, CA
03 Sept – Hiatus, Montreal, CA
13 Sept – Merelyn, Nijmegen, NL **
14 Sept – Hafenklang, Hamburg, DE **
15 Sept – Basement, Copenhagen, DK **
16 Sept – Urban Spree, Berlin, DE **
17 Sept – Las, Poznan, PL **
18 Sept – Schenne Blechschloss, Dresden, DE **
20 Sept – Klub Re, Krakow, PL **
21 Sept – Voodoo, Warsaw, PL **
22 Sept – Replugged, Vienna, AT
23 Sept – A4, Bratislava, SK **
24 Sept – Zlzkovska Noe Festival, Prague, CZ **
* = w/ Bismuth
** = w/ My Disco
